The Lady Bruins volleyball team continued their impressive start to the 2018 season as the team defeated Agnes Scott College (3-0) and Greensboro College (3-0) on Saturday to move to 4-0 on the season. The team has yet to lose a set to start the year as they are a perfect 12-0 in sets played so far.
"It has been a great start to our young season," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "We've had great contributions from several individuals at key times. We still have a lot of individual work to do which will improve our team play. This is the best start we've had in our three years as a program."
The Bruins competed in a tip-off tournament hosted at Greensboro College in Greensboro, North Carolina. The team did well against some solid NCAA D3 programs. On Friday, the Bruins defeated Piedmont College 3-0 after opening their season on Thursday night with a win over Columbia International University.
In the first match of Saturday play, the Bruins battled Agnes Scott College. The Bruins came out with solid passing and serving from the start. Katherine Ring provided the kills offensively as the sophomore had 14 kills and an amazing .824 hitting percentage for the match. Her spark helped the team to take the opening set 25-12.
The Scotties came back looking to even things up in the second set as they jumped out to an early advantage. Thanks to some blocks by the Bruins front line, the team crept back to tie the game and continued their run to take the lead. Again, Ring provided key kills as the Bruins went up 2-0 with a 25-18 win in the second set.
With a sweep in their sights, the Bruins looked to close out the Scotties in the third. AGC had other plans as they quickly jumped out to a 10-4 advantage. The Bruins were able to regroup as senior Saleena Walker provided several digs and had a run of great serves to help the Bruins battle back. With momentum, the Bruins never looked back as they went on to win the match 3-0 with a 25-15 victory in the third set.
Because of delays in the tournament with matches going longer than scheduled, the Bruins afternoon match didn't start until two hours after its scheduled time. Still, the team had great focus as they came out strong in the opening set. It was a team offensive effort as Brooke Beaver, Erin Jarvis and Katherine Ring kept the Pride defense guessing with kill after kill. The momentum allowed the Bruins to win handily in the opening set 25-9.
The Bruins were on a roll and it showed as they continued to pour it on in set number two. The Pride tried to come back, but the Bruins couldn't be slowed as they took set two 25-14 to go up 2-0 in the match. Greensboro College didn't want to send their fans home disappointed and came out strong in the third set as they matched BJU point for point early on. Eventually, the match was tied 21-21. Brooke Beaver stepped up and served three straight points to help the Bruins close out the match 25-21 to win 3-0.
With the wins, the Bruins improve to 4-0 on the season. Next up, the team will return home on Tuesday night as they host Spartanburg Methodist College at the Davis Field House.
