The Lady Bruins volleyball team picked up another road sweep on Thursday night as the team won their 7th straight match with a 3-0 victory over Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina. With the win, the Bruins improve to 23-5 on the season.
"It was quite a night," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "I'm proud of the way they played as we had several players step up for us at different times to help us get the win."
The Bruins and Wildcats met earlier in the 2018 season in Greenville with BJU sweeping JWU 3-0. It was senior night for the Wildcats as they came into the match with momentum with back to back wins over Toccoa Falls College and Piedmont International University.
In the opening set, the Wildcats came out and rode the energy of their home court advantage as they built a 5-1 lead. The Bruins responded with a 5-0 run thanks to some great setting from captain Rachel Williams as the Bruins took a 6-5 lead. The Bruins were able to get into a rhythm offensively and the team kept finding Brooke Beaver for kills as they took set one 25-15.
Jordan Anderson got the Bruins off to a good start with a kill to begin the second set as the Bruins took an early lead. The Wildcats stayed right with the Bruins as the two teams eventually battled to tie 15-15. From there, precision kills and good defensive play by the Bruins allowed them to overcome some mistakes to win the second set 25-21 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Bruins came out strong in set three as Laura Gaston recorded a kill to help the team jump out to a 6-4 lead. The Wildcats would battle back as they eventually took a 14-12 lead over BJU. The Bruins rallied to eventually tie the set at 17-17 before closing out the match on a 8-2 run. Abby Plew closed out the match for the team as she served three straight including an ace to seal the victory for the Bruins as they defeated the Wildcats 25-19 in set three to sweep the match 3-0.
Brooke Beaver was the only player in double figures on the night for kills as the freshman finished with 10 to go along with 14 digs. Rachel Williams was brilliant in setting as she finished with 32 assists on the night as well as 21 digs. Katherine Ring provided the spark defensively at the net for the Bruins with three solo blocks and two block assists.
Next up, the Bruins will return home for a tri-match on Saturday at the Davis Field House in Greenville, South Carolina. The Bruins will face Morris College at 12 p.m. followed by a matchup with Columbia College at 4 p.m.
