The Bruins volleyball team captured their second straight NCCAA DII National Tournament as the team rallied in the fourth set to defeat #2 seeded Maranatha Baptist University 3-1. With the win, the Bruins finished the season winning twenty-five of their last twenty-seven games, including winning eleven straight matches to close out the season.
"This is what we have been waiting for all season long with #1 and #2 playing against each other for the national title," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "Maranatha showed a lot of grit and character to get back to the national championship. They played a great game and we were thankful to be able to pull it out."
The Bruins came into the championship match after winning all three of their pool play games to advance to the final four semifinal round. In the semifinal, the Bruins swept #7 Randall University to advance to their second straight national title game.
Maranatha Baptist University came into the tournament as the #2 seed, having won two of the last three national championships. After being upset in their opening match of pool play, the Sabercats stormed back with three-straight wins, including a 3-1 win over #5 Arlington Baptist University in the semifinal to setup a rematch of last year's national championship. As the two teams took the court, both knew one would be walking off as a champion at the end of the match.
In the opening set, the two teams traded points with several unforced errors as the score was tied 4-4. The Bruins then took the lead after a pair of kills from Brooke Beaver and two straight aces from Victoria Glaze to lead 12-6.
The Bruins continued to increase their lead but the Sabercats didn't let the score slip away. After kills by Katherine Ring and Brooke Beaver, the Bruins took a 22-15 lead. Emma Riddle then tapped the ball over the Sabercat blockers to give the Bruins a 25-17 win in set one.
With momentum, the Bruins scored the first three points of set two with kills from Laura Gaston and Brooke Beaver and an ace from Saleena Walker. Later on in the set, the Bruins wend on a 5-0 run thanks to the dominant play of Brooke Beaver as she recorded two more kills to push the lead to 15-7.
The Sabercats refused to back down and came right back thanks to a kill from Gabrielle Carpenter to cut the lead to 17-13. The Bruins answered back with a run of their own and kept up their great play as Ring hammered down a kill to end set two 25-18 and give the Bruins a 2-0 lead in the match.
As both teams took the court for set three, the Bruins knew they were just one set away from repeating as national champions. The Sabercats were determined to not led that happed as MBU stormed out to a 7-2 lead. After kills by Claire Hansel and Kelsey Johnson, the Sabercats had extended their lead 13-5 as they looked poised to run away with the set.
The Bruins found an answer thanks to great serving by Beaver and stellar defensive play at the net by Ring, Gaston, and Riddle as the team roared back to trail 16-14. The two teams traded points and the lead before a kill by Laura Gaston tied the set at 22-22. The Sabercats scored the next two points and then finished off the set 25-23 thanks to a kill by Kelsey Johnson.
"This is the national championship game," Coach Denny said. "You expect to be pushed and challenged. We told our team that we needed to play our game and to relax and have fun."
The Sabercats had grabbed momentum and it showed as they scored the first three points of set four. The Bruins came back with a run of their own thanks to kills from Beaver and Glaze to lead 5-4. Throughout the set, the Bruins and Sabercats went back and forth with neither giving their opponent a large lead.
With the set nearing its end, Jessica Ureke recorded a kill for MBU to give the Sabercats a 22-17 lead. The Bruins answered back with a kill from Katherine Ring, sending senior Saleena Walker to the line to serve.
Walker served seven straight points for the Bruins including an ace as kills from Gaston and Beaver sparked a rally as the Bruins stormed back to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-1. The Bruins rushed the court in celebration as the team captured their second straight national title.
"There is no one else I would want serving for us when we are trailing 22-18 than Saleena Walker," Coach Denny said. "We're very happy for our seniors especially. This is a special group as they started the program with us. They each have made great contributions for our team and left their mark on Bruins volleyball."
Brooke Beaver capped off another incredible season with 24 kills and 20 digs in the win. She was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for the second straight season. Saleena Walker also earned All-Tournament honors as the senior finished with 37 digs and 2 aces in the win. Brittany Annand also had 50 assists in the match. A key stat in the win was the effective blocking up front as Laura Gaston, Emma Riddle, and Katherine Ring combined for 12 solo blocks.
The Bruins capped off another great season with a national title. Over the course of the season, the Bruins faced several challenges as the team battled through a difficult schedule to once again claim their spot atop NCCAA DII.
"This team played beyond what I expected them to be able to," Coach Denny said. "I appreciated each one of them and how they responded to adversity this season. We became a very tight group and had a great team spirit. I'm very proud of each one of them."
