The Lady Bruins rode the energy of the hometown crowd on Friday night for the homecoming match as the team won their third straight with a 3-0 sweep of the Johnson & Wales Wildcats. The Bruins started out strong, had a few errors, but shook it off and continued to play their game. The match was finished in three sets although the last two were close in score (25-15, 25-23, 25-21).
The Wildcats took an early lead in the first set. The Bruins started the match with a few unforced errors, but quickly got back on their feet. Courtney Bates protected the serve with some strong kills early on. Multiple times, JWU found the hole in the Bruins' defense, but Bruins were able to keep at least a three-point lead for the rest of the set. The game ended in the Bruins' favor, 25-15 with a kill from Brooke Beaver.
The second set was a lot closer than the first. Points were exchanged regularly until the Bruins pulled ahead 12-9. The Bruins were able to keep the separation with the help of strong kills from Katherine Ring until the Bruins lost serve at 20-17. The Wildcats battled back to tie the score up to 20-20 and stayed right behind the Bruins for the rest of the match. The score was tied two different times before the Bruins sealed the deal 25-23 to take a 2-0 lead.
The third set was also fairly close for the first twenty points. Head Coach Vickie Denny called a timeout after JWU pulled ahead 12-17. Immediately following the timeout, Bates won the point with a kill. Laura Gaston then had a four-point serving streak, tying the score 17-17. The Bruins' comeback set the Wildcats on their heels. Once the Bruins pulled ahead, they never looked back. The set ended 25-21, bringing the Bruins their 19th win of the season with a 3-0 sweep.
"They pushed us tonight and we like those kinds of matches," Denny said. "We want to be pushed. We want to see where our weaknesses are. We'll learn from it, and hopefully get better for next week."
Captain Rachel Williams was recognized before the game for her extensive contribution to the team. She has served as captain for the last three years and surpassed over 2,000 career assists this season. Twice the senior has been honored as an All-American and will leave an indelible mark on the program for years to come.
Brooke Beaver led the Bruins in hits with ten kills in the match. Katherine Ring and Courtney Bates followed with seven kills each. The team collectively served eight aces throughout the night. Saleena Walker had 25 digs defensively while Rachel Williams finished the match with 30 assists. The Bruins next play on Tuesday the 16th at 7:00 p.m. at Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa Falls, Georgia.
