The Bruins wrapped up the 2019 regular season with back-to-back sweeps over Kentucky Christian University and Truett-McConnell University at the Davis Field House on Saturday. With the wins, the Bruins end the regular season at 28-4, including an impressive 15-1 record at home.
"I was really pleased with our play today," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "We always try to end the regular season with some good competition to get us ready for the regional tournament. I really thought we stepped up and played some of our best ball of the year."
The Bruins came into the matches today having won fourteen of their last fifteen games. The team welcomed Kentucky Christian University for their first match of the day with the Knights having lost two of their last three games.
In the opening set, the Knights scored the first two points before Lauren Mukenschnabl provided a spark for the Bruins with an ace to help the team take a 7-4 lead. The Bruins kept the lead thanks to a kill by Brooke Beaver and an ace by Brittany Annand to lead 11-7 and force the Knights into a timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Knights scored three straight points as they rallied to tie the set at 14-14. The two teams traded points with the score remaining close. Again, Lauren Mukenschnabl provided the boost as the senior helped the Bruins score four straight points to close out the first set 25-19.
In set two, the Knights again jumped out to a quick lead before the Bruins answered back with four straight points thanks to a kill by Laura Gaston. The senior captain continued to fuel the team as she recorded back to back aces to help the Bruins lead 9-6.
Later on in the set, Brittany Annand helped the Bruins score three straight points as she recorded two aces and Beaver had a kill to help the Burins lead 17-10. Although the Knights rallied late, the Bruins held them off as they won the second set by the same margin as the first at 25-19.
The Bruins had grabbed momentum and looked to finish off the Knights as Katherine Ring and Laura Gaston each had a kill to help the Bruins jump out to a 4-1 lead. The Knights answered back with a small run to lead 6-4 as they looked to avoid the sweep.
Freshman Hannah Prince then stepped up to serve for the Bruins as she recorded three-straight aces to spark a 13-1 run for the team to lead 19-7. The Bruins never looked back as they finished off the Knights winning 25-11 in the final set and the match 3-0.
Gaston led the Bruins with 10 kills and three aces in the win to go along with three solo blocks and two block assists. Brittany Annand finished with 30 assists while Saleena Walker led the Bruins with 21 digs. The Bruins also had fourteen aces as a team in the win over the Knights.
In the second match of the day, the Bruins would face Truett-McConnell University. Earlier this season, the Bruins had swept the Bears in Cleveland, Georgia but the game was a hard-fought win for the Bruins on the road. The Bears came into Saturday's games having won four of their last five games.
Saleena Walker started the set with an ace as the Bruins built a 4-2 lead early on. The Bears kept the score close but Katherine Ring helped the Bruins stretch the lead with a kill and Mukenschnabl provided another ace on the day as the Bruins lead 11-6.
Later on, the Bruins had another four-point streak as Beaver provided two aces and Victoria Glaze a kill to push the Bruins lead 19-12. The Bruins were able to close out the set well as Katherine Ring hammered down a kill to help the Bruins win set one 25-17.
The Bruins stormed out to a 6-1 lead in set two thanks to two aces by Beaver and a pair of kills by Gaston. The Bears answered back with a short run, but the Bruins kept up the pressure as Beaver provided another kill and Glaze an ace to stretch the lead to 14-6. After Emma Riddle provided a kill, the Bruins were able to close out set two in convincing fashion winning 25-13 to lead the match 2-0.
In the third set, the Bruins carried over their momentum as senior Saleena Walker helped serve five straight points with the team leading 5-0. Another five-point run gave the Bruins a 12-4 lead thanks to two kills by Emma Riddle.
The Bruins offense was in sync in the set and it showed as Brittany Annand fed the Bruins hitters who picked apart the Bears defense. After Brooke Beaver recorded two kills, the Bruins finished off the Bears as Katherine Ring recorded a kill along the back line to win the set 25-16 and the match 3-0.
"We're really gelling together right now," Bruins captain Laura Gaston said. "We need to take the unity that we have and we just need to keep practicing and working together to get stronger."
Brooke Beaver and Laura Gaston led the Bruins with 11 kills each while Brittany Annand had a great match with 35 assists and three aces. Saleena Walker again had 21 digs for the Bruins as the team finished their regular season strong.
Next up, the Bruins will compete in the NCCAA DII South Regional Tournament next weekend in Pensacola, Florida. The Bruins will look to win their fourth region championship in a row and will enter the tournament as the top-seed.
