The Lady Bruins volleyball team kept up their winning ways on Friday as the team won their 6th and 7th matches in a row with victories over Trinity College and Trinity Baptist College in straight sets. With the wins, the Bruins improve to 7-0 on the season and 2-0 in region play.
In their first match of the day, the team dominated the Trinity Tigers 3-0 (25-9, 25-12, 25-12). It was all Bruins in the first set. Led by outstanding serving and finishing, they jumped out to a commanding 6-1 lead. Tenacious net play by Erin Jarvis, Katherine Ring, and Brooke Beaver extended the lead to 13-4. Newcomer Courtney Bates continued her fantastic early season play with back-to-back kills to push the advantage to 17-6. After a short run by the Tigers cut the deficit to single digits, the Bruins would secure the last eight points of the match to win 25-9.
Strong serving by Brittany Annand propelled BJU to a 6-0 advantage to begin the second set. A mini run by the Tigers immediately was met by the strong play of Ring and Beaver as each picked up two kills to give the Bruins a ten-point lead. Much like the first set, a three-point run by the Tigers cut the lead to seven; however, BJU would score seven of the last eight points to win 25-12.
Trinity would not cave as the third set began with the teams trading early points to a 3-3 tie. Back to back kills by Jarvis and Ring established a lead the Bruins would not relinquish. Exceptional defense by the Bruins forced Trinity into several hitting errors helping BJU to an 18-10 lead. Needing seven points to seal the victory, Ring would pick up four kills and a block as the Bruins finished the match with their second consecutive 25-12 victory.
In the nightcap, the Bruins would take on the host school Trinity Baptist Eagles. The tone for the first set was clear as the Bruins came out with power in all facets of the game. The Eagles never scored more than one point in a row. Annand, Lauren Mukenschnabl, and Bates recorded service aces while Jarvis, Gaston, Ring, and Beaver controlled the net with powerful kills and intimidating blocks. The Bruins led 9-3 forcing the Eagles to call timeout. BJU did not lose their momentum though as they would go onto outscore Trinity Baptist 15-2 the rest of the way for a crowd-silencing 25-5 victory.
The Eagles looked to revive their home crowd in set two by scoring the first two points; however, an Abby Plew kill along with two Brooke Beaver aces gave the Bruins a lead they would not give back. The net play of Plew, Ring, and Beaver was just too much for the Eagles defense to handle as a 3-2 Bruins lead quickly jumped to a 20-6 second set rout. The Eagles would call a timeout and break Saleena Walker's eight consecutive serve streak; however, the net play once again of Jarvis, Beaver, and Gaston was just too overpowering for the Eagles defense as the Bruins captured the second set 25-7.
Annand made sure the home crowd had very little to cheer about in the third set as she recorded six aces leading the Bruins to a commanding 12-0 lead. After the Eagles got on the board, Bates would tally the next twelve points on her powerful serve to give the Bruins a 24-2 advantage and eventual 25-5 win.
After the two match sweep of the day, Coach Denny commented, "I am happy with our consistency of play. It is very nice having so many options this year that makes it difficult for our opponents on defense. Our serve was very tough tonight."
The Bruins (7-0, 2-0) will continue their NCCAA South Region play tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. against Pensacola Christian College followed by a 1:00 p.m. match versus Johnson University of Florida.
