The Bruins women's volleyball team wrapped up their opening tournament of the 2019 season as the team split their Saturday matches with a loss to William Peace University (3-1) and a thrilling five-set win over Southern Virginia University (3-2). With the results, the team wraps up the road trip with a 3-1 record as they head home for their home opener on September 6.
"We played four very competitive matches this weekend and we're thankful to be heading home with three wins," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "Due to different injuries, we were able to play different combinations and let everybody play and they all contributed."
The Bruins came into the day after winning both of their matches on Friday night over Roanoke College and Averett University. For the first match of Saturday's competition, the Bruins would take on the Pacers of William Peace University who had opened their season with a win over Southern Virginia University on Friday night.
In the opening set, the Bruins came out on the attack as Emma Riddle and Brooke Beaver made kills for the team to give BJU the early lead. The Pacers kept pace as the score remained close throughout the set. Mya Parks recorded two kills and Brittany Carpenter recorded an ace for the Pacers to give WPU a 22-19 lead. The Bruins tried to bounce back but the Pacers closed out the set winning 25-22.
Both teams traded points early on in the second set before the Pacers scored four straight points to take a 9-6 lead. Mya Parks continued to plague the Bruins defense with precision kills as the Pacers looked to pull away. Laura Gaston recorded back to back kills for the Bruins to spark a rally for BJU with the team trailing 14-13. The Pacers responded with a 9-2 run to take control as they won the second set 25-16.
With their backs against the wall, the Bruins came out looking to avoid the sweep. Abby Plew and Victoria Glaze recorded kills for the Bruins while the team also took advantage of errors by the Pacers to build a 12-4 lead. The Bruins refused to back down as they continued to work through their passing rhythm to find open spots in the Pacer defense. As a result, the Bruins led 20-10 after a kill from Laura Gaston and never looked back winning the set 25-15. Still, the team knew there was more work to do as they trailed 2-1.
The Pacers wanted to put the Bruins away for good in the match and it showed int he fourth set as they came out and built a 6-1 lead. Despite digging an early hole, the Bruins bounced back as they brought the score within two 11-9. Another crucial run ended any hopes of a comeback for BJU as the Pacers outscored the Bruins 10-3 en route to a 25-18 win in the fourth set. This handed the Bruins their first loss of the season.
"William Peace played near perfect ball against us and we just struggled to get our offense going," Coach Denny said. Brooke Beaver had a double-double in the match with 10 kills and 22 digs while Saleena Walker led the team defensively recording 39 digs in the match.
The Bruins looked to shake off the loss as they took the court against the Knights of Southern Virginia University. SVU came into the match with a 1-1 record. Kills from Saleena Walker, Emma Riddle and Brooke Beaver helped the Bruins build an early lead before the Knights came back to tie the score 8-8. Momentum had swung to SVU and they rode it to a 15-10 lead before Coach Denny called timeout looking to stop the rally. Unfortunately, it didn't work as the Knights came out strong scoring the next six in a row to help win the opening set 25-15.
In the second set, the Knights carried their momentum over building an early lead. The Bruins responded with kills from Beaver and Walker as they rallied to lead 10-8. Although the Knights kept pace, the Bruins matched point for point to maintain a slim lead. After an ace by Brooke Beaver, the Knights called a timeout but Beaver would answer with another ace after the break to make it 22-19. The Bruins edged the Knights 25-21 to tie the match 1-1 heading into the third set.
Momentum went back and forth in the third set with the Bruins gaining the early lead and the Knights fighting right back. At the midway point of the set, the Bruins went on a 5-0 run to take a 19-16 lead thanks to a kill by Riddle and attack errors by the Knights. The Bruins looked poised to take the third set as they built the lead 24-20. The Knights came roaring back with three straight points before a service error ended the set with the Bruins winning 25-23. The Bruins led the match 2-1.
In the fourth set, the Knights came out strong as they looked to avoid the loss. Kills by Kylee Christenson and Ryan Dubinsky put SVU on top 8-4. The Bruins rallied back as the teams battled to a 14-14 tie. The Knights were able to keep the lead as the set came to a close and held on for a 25-20 win to force a fifth and final set.
Both teams traded points early in the fifth set before Brooke Beaver recorded back to back kills and Emma Riddle an ace to put the Bruins up 11-6. The Knights clawed their way back as they scored four of the next five points with the Bruins leading 12-10. The Bruins were determined to come out on top as Laura Gaston recorded a kill and Brooke Beaver sealed the win with a kill on the final point as the Bruins won 15-13 and the match 3-2.
"Winning a five set match after the long preseason and tournament we've had showed a lot of heart," Coach Denny said. "We went back and forth with a lot of long rallies in this match but I was proud of our team for how they finished."
Brooke Beaver again led the Bruins with 17 kills, 4 aces, and 22 digs in the win. Saleena Walker powered the Bruins defensively with 32 digs as the team improved to 3-1 in their young season.
Next up, the Bruins will return home as they host the NCCAA DII South Regional Kickoff tournament September 6-7 at the Davis Field House. The Bruins will play two matches on Friday and two on Saturday.
