The Lady Bruins responded well after dropping the opening set on Tuesday night as the team won three straight sets to defeat Toccoa Falls College 3-1. The win marks the fourth in a row for the Bruins as the team improve to 20-5 on the season and remain a perfect 7-0 in region play.
"I was disappointed how flat we were to start the match," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "I was also so pleased with how we turned it around during the second set. Different players stepped up at different times to help us turn the momentum our way."
The Bruins and Screaming Eagles met earlier in the 2018 season with the Bruins winning 3-0 in Greenville. Toccoa Falls was looking to upset the BJU as they took the court in front of their hometown fans.
The Eagles jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. From there, the Bruins tried to claw their way back but errors didn't allow the team to close the gap. After trailing 16-10, the Bruins tried to mount a charge to get back into the set. Unfortunately their late run wasn't enough as TFC took the opening set 25-20.
It was the Bruins turn to take an early lead to start the second set as the team led 6-1. Jordan Anderson led the team offensively with kills as they continued to pour it on leading 16-9. From there, the Bruins kept on rolling to win the second set 25-15 to tie the match 1-1.
The Bruins had stolen momentum and it showed to begin the third set as the team again built the lead. Defensively, the Bruins were able to keep plays alive with great digs while Anderson and Courtney Bates continued to find holes in the Eagles defense. After building a 15-9 lead, the Eagles closed the gap forcing the Bruins to call a timeout. After the timeout, the Bruins came out strong as they pushed their lead to 19-14 before closing out the third set 25-18. With the win, the Bruins led the match 2-1.
With victory in their sights, the Bruins came out strong looking to close out the match. The team built a 9-3 lead, forcing the Eagles to call a timeout. It didn't seem to slow the Bruins as they came out strong after the timeout to build a 16-6 lead. The Eagles couldn't recover as the Bruins went on a 9-2 run to close out the set 25-8 and win the match 3-1.
"Toccoa has been playing very well," Coach Denny said. "They came ready to play tonight."
Jordan Anderson led the Bruins with 17 kills while Courtney Bates had 13 kills. Brooke Beaver also had a strong day for BJU with 10 kills and 23 digs. Rachel Williams finished the night with 48 assists.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road again for back to back matches on Saturday against Pensacola Christian College and Judson College in Pensacola, Florida.
