The Bruins volleyball team rushed the court in celebration after the team swept #3 seeded Toccoa Falls College 3-0 to capture their 3rd straight NCCAA DII South Region Championship. The Bruins had a strong tournament, dropping just one set in four matches in New Port Richey, Florida.
"It was a great team win for us today," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "We improved our play with each set and reduced our unforced errors. We knew Toccoa was a very solid defensive team which forced us to be patient with our offense and prolong the play until we could put it down for a kill."
It was a rematch of the 2017 region championship between the Bruins and Eagles with last year's match ending in a thrilling five-set victory for BJU. The Bruins and Eagles met twice during the 2018 season with the Bruins winning each match. The Bruins were coming off a 3-1 win over #2 seeded Pensacola Christian College in the semifinal match on Friday.
Brooke Beaver continued her dominant tournament performance as she opened the first set with a kill as the Bruins jumped out to a 6-0 lead. The Bruins kept up their momentum with strong defensive play at the net as they led 16-8. After falling behind early, the Eagles couldn't maintain a rally as the Bruins took the opening set 25-14.
Courtney Bates helped the Bruins build an early lead in set two with a kill, but the Eagles didn't let BJU build a sizeable lead. Beaver came back with a powerful kill down the middle to give the Bruins a 10-7 lead. The Eagles continued to stay within striking distance but they couldn't seem to slow Brooke Beaver as she again came up with a kill to increase the Bruins lead 22-17. Katherine Ring and Laura Gaston came up with a big block at the net and Lauren Mukenschnabl followed it up with an ace to end set two as the Bruins won 25-21 to take a 2-0 match lead.
The Bruins were one set away from a championship, and their confidence showed as the team came out strong again with another hot start to build a 7-1 lead. The Eagles rallied, but a well-placed tip by Beaver kept TFC at bay as the Bruins led 14-8. From there, the Eagles went on another run as they closed the distance with BJU leading 16-14. After a timeout, the Bruins came out strong as Courtney Bates had a kill down the line to give the team a 22-15 lead. From there, a kill by Ring and another tip by Bates ended the match as the Bruins won 25-17 in the third set to sweep the match 3-0.
"We followed our game plan and played well together as a team," Coach Denny said. "Our serve/serve receive game was solid with some key aces. We're very proud of our team and look forward to a great national tournament."
Three Bruins were in double figures in kills with Brooke Beaver leading the way with 12 to go along with 20 digs. Katherine Ring and Courtney Bates each had 10 kills in the match. Rachel Williams had another strong match for the Bruins with 42 assists while Saleena Walker finished with 31 digs.
The Bruins will represent the South region in the upcoming NCCAA DII National Tournament. The team has built a strong case to be the top-seed in the tournament with the final seeding to be decided by the NCCAA over the weekend. The national tournament will be played at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, November 14-17.
