The Bruins volleyball team picked up another win on Thursday night to push their winning streak to eleven straight as the team defeated the Johnson and Wales University Wildcats 3-1 in Charlotte, North Carolina. With the win, the Bruins move to 24-3 on the season.
"Credit Johnson and Wales as they came out strong and shut down our offensive attack through the first two sets," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "Fortunately, we were able to turn the tide in the third set and began running offense and eliminated unforced errors."
The Bruins and Wildcats met just two weeks ago with BJU sweeping JWU 3-0 in convincing fashion at the Davis Field House. While the Bruins came in on a hot streak, the Wildcats came in strong as well winning two of their last three games. The Bruins knew they would be in for a tough test as the two teams took the court in front of the Wildcat faithful.
In the opening set, the two teams went back and forth exchanging points early on with the score remaining close. The Wildcats pulled ahead 10-7 before the Bruins came back with kills from Brooke Beaver and company as the team battled back to tie the set at 12-12.
From there, the Bruins grabbed momentum as they took the lead and continued to build on it 16-12 forcing the Wildcats to call timeout. The Wildcats rallied as they eventually tied the set at 18-18, forcing the Bruins to call timeout. Out of the timeout, the Wildcats scored back to back points before the Bruins came roaring back to take set one 25-22.
The Wildcats had let the opening set slip away and they were determined to get back into the match and it showed early on in the second set as they built a 4-1 lead over BJU. The Bruins remained poised and got great defensive play as Saleena Walker and Brooke Beaver had great digs to keep the ball alive. Still, the team continued to fall behind as the Wildcats increased their lead.
After the Wildcats took an 20-13 lead, the Bruins were looking for answers and found them as Laura Gaston and Katherine Ring provided kills to help the team claw back to trail 23-20. The Bruins battled back to tie 24-24 but the Wildcats evened the match as they outlasted the Bruins 26-24 in the second set.
The Bruins came out determined in the third set as the team built an 11-3 lead. The team looked much more in rhythm offensively as Brittany Annand fed the Bruins attack for kills. As a result, the Bruins continued to increase their lead as the team rolled to a 25-7 win in set three to lead the match 2-1.
In the fourth set, the Bruins continued to carry their momentum as they again raced out to an 11-4 lead. The Wildcats were trying to claw their way back into the set, but the Bruins used a strong serve and capitalized on each play to keep the upper hand. After kills by Gaston and Ring, the Bruins were able to finish off the Wildcats as they won 25-16 in the fourth set to win the match 3-1.
Brooke Beaver led the Bruins with 14 kills and 23 digs on the night while Laura Gaston finished the match with 15 kills and two aces. Saleena Walker had 25 digs in the match while Brittany Annand had another strong setting match with 37 assists.
Next up, the Bruins will be back home on Saturday for a tri-match as they welcome North Greenville University at 12 p.m. and Brewton-Parker College at 4 p.m.
