The Bob Jones University Bruins women's volleyball team saw their 11-match winning streak come to an end on Tuesday night as the team fell 3-0 to Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 11-1 on the season.
"We struggled in serval key areas tonight especially with our serve receive which limited our offensive side of the net.," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said.
The Bruins not only came into the match with a perfect record, but the team had a near perfect set record as they were 33-2 on the season in sets played. The Flying Fleet came into the match on Tuesday in need of a win as the team was 1-10 on the season.
In the opening set, the Bruins had costly errors from the start as they quickly fell behind 4-0. The Bruins were able to claw their way back to tie the set at 7-7 and Katherine Ring kept the momentum going with a kill as the Bruins took a 10-7 lead. The Fleet responded as they went on a 13-4 run to take a 20-14 lead over the Bruins. Erskine never looked back as an ace secured a 25-17 first set victory.
As the second set began, the Bruins again found themselves in an early hole as the Fleet jumped out to a 5-1 lead. While the Bruins were able to chip away at the lead, the Fleet continued to keep the upperhand as they looked to close out another set. Another costly run allowed the Fleet to take a 21-13 lead. From there, a kill by Jojo Taylor and a service error handed the Flying Fleet a 25-16 win in the second set and a 2-0 match lead.
With their backs against the wall, the Bruins came out looking to get back into the game. Jordan Anderson provided an ace as the Bruins held a 5-4 lead early on in the set. The Fleet again went on a run as Erskine outscored BJU 8-0 to take a 12-5 lead. The Bruins came back with a run of their own as the team fought back to tie the set at 13-13. The Fleet again took the lead as the Bruins committed several errors. After Erskine took a 20-15 lead, the Bruins mounted one last charge. It wasn't enough as Erskine College held on to win the third set 25-22 and the match 3-0.
"Erskine served us tough and we never got into a rhythm," Coach Denny said. "Defensively we were hoping for a better performance especially from our back row players. This was a tough loss but hopefully we can learn from our mistakes and get better because of it."
Katherine Ring and Jordan Anderson each had 6 kills to lead the Bruins on the night while Ring also contributed several blocks. Rachel Williams and Brittany Annand each had 8 assists while Courtney Bates had 13 digs. With the loss, the team falls to 11-1 on the season. Next up, the Lady Bruins will be back at home on Thursday night as they welcome Greensboro College.
