The Lady Bruins split their two matches on Saturday at the Davis Field House. First, the team fell short as North Greenville University handed the Bruins their first loss at home (12-1) with a 3-0 sweep and ended their 11-game winning streak. However, the Bruins quickly bounced back with a 3-0 sweep of their own against the Brewton-Parker College Barons.
"North Greenville is a great team," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "I thought we played really well, especially in the beginning of the match. We had some great serves that took them out of their offense a little bit. I wished we had played them a little tougher, but at the end of the day, they're a good team, and I was pleased overall; it was great experience for us as we head into the final part of our season."
The Bruins began the first of their two matches against the North Greenville University Crusaders. Prior to today's match, the two teams had never met and the Crusaders would prove to be a tough match for the Bruins throughout.
The Bruins started the first set on the right foot as Victoria Glaze and Brooke Beaver landed several kills to give the Bruins an early 11-5 lead. Following an NGU timeout, Victoria Glaze continued to find the soft spots of the defense and deliver more kills, boosting the Bruin lead to 16-7. Then, NGU exploded with a 9-3 run and narrowed the deficit to 19-16. At this point, the teams began to trade points as neither one was able to put the game away. With the set tied at 23-23, NGU landed two key kills to win the first set 25-23.
After losing a huge lead in the first set, the Bruins came out in the second set determined to swing momentum back onto their side. Thanks to a few kills and blocks by Katherine Ring, the Bruins raced out to an early 6-2 lead over the Crusaders. Brooke Beaver also contributed to the lead, capturing an early ace and a few kills, but the Bruins led by only four at 12-8. NGU blocked several attacks by BJU to tie the set at 12-12. From there, NGU never looked back as the Crusaders won the second set 25-16 on a 13-4 run.
With their backs against the wall, the Bruins needed to respond quickly. However, unforced errors continued to plague the team as they fell behind early 7-9. Laura Gaston and Victoria Glaze kept the match close with three collective kills and brought the Bruins to within one point 13-14. Unfortunately, the effort proved to be insufficient as NGU erupted and began another massive run (8-3) to give themselves a 22-16 lead. From there, the Crusaders ended the Bruins' hopes of a comeback by winning the set 25-18 on a 3-1 run.
Despite the loss, many Bruins stepped up to the challenge of playing a NCAA Division II school and played particularly well. Brooke Beaver totaled 10 kills and 10 digs throughout the course of the match; she also achieved a milestone as she reached 300 kills for the season. In addition, Brittany Annand left her mark on the match, notching 19 assists and 9 digs. Saleena Walker stuffed the box score with 21 digs, 4 assists, and 2 aces. Her efforts put her over 3,000 digs in her career.
According to Coach Denny, the loss helped the team prepare for the final portion of the season and the playoffs. "Offensively, it helped us look for different options, and it is good for us to develop that awareness. Seeing so many hard hitters that can put the ball in so many different places is good for our defense as well. Hopefully, we can implement those things as we finish our season."
Shortly thereafter, the Bruins faced off against the Brewton-Parker College Barons. The Bruins had played the Barons three times since the team's inaugural season in 2016 and held a 2-1 advantage over BPC.
The Bruins attacked early, jumping out to a fast 2-0 lead. Unfortunately, 3 consecutive hitting errors led to a 3-2 for the Barons. However, fueled by the excellent play of Laura Gaston and Brooke Beaver and hitting errors by the Barons, the Bruins went on a 12-1 scoring run (16-5). Several kills by Brooke Beaver at the end of the set secured a 25-10 victory.
To start the second set, both sides struggled to keep the ball out of the net with many of the initial points coming from hitting and serving errors. With an 8-4 lead, the Bruins cleaned up their game as kills by Katherine Ring, Emma Riddle, and Victoria Glaze sparked an 8-3 scoring run as the team led 16-7. On the other side, the Barons struggled to maintain a consistent serve, allowing the Bruins to run away with the set as Brooke Beaver recorded an ace to win 25-13.
Staring down the possibility of a sweep, the Barons continued to fight and kept the opening minutes close, trailing BJU 5-4. Then, the Bruins scored 19 unanswered points on the Barons. During the offensive run, Laura Gaston recorded 2 aces, Katherine Ring notched 3 kills, and several others nullified the Baron offense with blocks and digs. Katherine Ring put an emphatic end to the match with a vicious kill to end the third and final set 25-9 as the Bruins swept the Barons 3-0.
Brooke Beaver had a near double-double with 9 kills and 12 digs while Laura Gaston had six aces in the win. Next up, the Bruins will be on the road on Tuesday night as they face Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina.
