The Bruins volleyball team won in dramatic fashion on Friday night in the semifinal match of the NCCAA DII National Tournament. The team defeated #3 seeded Geneva College in a five-set thriller to reach the title game for the first time in program history.
"I am very proud of how our team competed tonight," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "We played a very good Geneva team and we were down several times and were able to come back. Our team showed a lot of heart and determination tonight."
The Bruins finished up pool play earlier in the day with a 3-0 sweep of #4 Emmaus Bible College. The Bruins had strong play right from the start as Brooke Beaver powered the team to an opening set victory 25-18.
In set two, the Bruins again used a hot start to jump out to an early 4-1 lead. The Bruins took advantage of the Eagles errors before Beaver came back with back to back kills to increase the lead 13-7. From there, the Bruins never looked back as they went on to win the second set of the match 25-16.
The Bruins would complete the sweep thanks to great blocking up front by Katherine Ring and Jordan Anderson. The pair were dominant in limiting the Eagles offense as defense would be a major factor in the victory. After a kill by Ring, Courtney Bates served an ace as the Bruins won 25-16 to sweep the match 3-0.
With the win, the Bruins advanced to their second straight final four. Their semifinal opponent would be the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes who came in after posting a 2-1 record in pool play. In the first set, the Bruins came out strong as Brooke Beaver had an ace and Jordan Anderson a kill to help the Bruins lead 4-2. The Tornadoes were able to keep pace but the Bruins maintained the upper hand. At the midway point of the set, Courtney Bates had a kill to spark an 8-2 run for the Bruins as they led 20-10. The Bruins closed out the opening set thanks to two attack errors and a service error by the Tornadoes as BJU won 25-17.
The Tornadoes came out looking to even the match but both teams went back and forth with the score tied 8-8 early on. The Tornadoes would go on a short run thanks to kills by Sydney McNulty and Daphne Husinger as they stretched their lead 15-11. The Bruins tried to find an answer, but the Tornadoes were determined to tie it up as they kept finding holes in the Bruins defense to win the second set 25-18 over BJU.
With the match tied 1-1, both teams knew the third set would be a momentum shifter. Brooke Beaver had an ace for the Bruins and Courtney Bates added another kill to help the team lead 5-2. The Tornadoes came right back as they eventually tied the Bruins 10-10. From there, neither team would let the other run away with the lead as the score remained close to the final point. After tying 22-22, McNulty came up with another big kill for the Tornadoes and an attack error by the Bruins put the set at 24-22. With their backs against the wall, Beaver and Anderson came up with back to back kills to tie the set at 24-24. The Bruins had grabbed momentum and kept it going as Bates completed the late comeback with a kill as the Bruins took the third set 26-24.
The Bruins were one set away from advancing to the national championship and the team continued to ride momentum as kills by Katherine Ring helped the team take a 6-2 lead. The Bruins looked to be in control of the set but the Tornadoes came roaring back as they rallied to tie the set at 11-11. The Bruins took the lead again and stretched it as they led 19-16 with a kill from Saleena Walker. This set, it was the Tornadoes who would make a late rally as back to back kills from Kacey Costal forced a decisive fifth set with Geneva winning 25-23.
It all came down to the fifth set with a trip to the title game on the line. The Tornadoes came out strong with three straight kills as they led 4-1. The Bruins began to climb closer, but the Tornadoes maintained the lead as the teams switched courts with Geneva up 8-4. The Bruins answered back with three-straight points thanks to a kill by Rachel Williams, an ace by Saleena Walker and another kill by Brooke Beaver as BJU trailed 9-7. The Bruins fought back to tie the game at 11-11. From there, Daphne Hunsinger had a kill to give the Tornadoes the lead 13-12. Two straight attack errors by the Tornadoes gave the Bruins a match point at 14-13. Lauren Mukenschanbl came back with a well-placed serve and the ensuing kill attempt sailed wide for the Tornadoes as the Bruins battled back to win set five 15-13 and the match 3-2.
Brooke Beaver led the team with 17 kills and 19 digs in the match to go along with 3 aces. Rachel Williams had 33 assists and Saleena Walker 34 digs as the team advances to their first national championship match. Their opponent will be the #2 seeded Maranatha Baptist University Sabercats who have won three-straight NCCAA DII National titles. The match will be played at 1 p.m.
