The Bruins stormed back from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth and final set. Unfortunately, the Bruins came up just short as they fell in the fifth set 18-16 to lose to Converse College 3-2. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 13-3 on the season.
"While this will go down as a loss, it was a great match and really pushed and stretched us in ways that will pay off at the end of our season," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "I was very proud of how our players came back after being two games down. We switched up the lineup and had several players step up to get us back into it."
In the opening set, the Bruins came out with the first three points as Laura Gaston powered the team with a kill. The Bruins maintained the lead thanks to kills by Brooke Beaver but the Valkyries stayed within striking distance.
After Saleena Walker recorded back to back aces, the Bruins looked primed to take the opening set as they led 17-10. Instead, Converse came roaring back with a great rally as they eventually took a 25-24 lead. After some back and forth, a kill by Brittany Tepedino secured the comeback as the Valkyries took set one 27-25.
Momentum had swung to the home team and it showed in the second set as the Valkyries built a 5-2 lead early on. The Bruins came back thanks to several errors by the Valkyries as the score was tied 9-9. After trading points back and forth, the Valkyries went on a 6-0 run and the Bruins never recovered as Converse College took a commanding 2-0 lead with a 25-16 win in set two.
With their backs against the wall, the Bruins came out determined to avoid the sweep. The score remained close early on in the set before the Bruins went on a 6-1 run thanks to a great serving sequence by Saleena Walker. The Bruins got a spark from Abby Plew who came in with some big kills in the set as the team kept the lead. After a kill by Brooke Beaver and two attack errors on the Valkyries, the Bruins forced a fourth set with a 25-20 win in set three.
The scoring sequence in the fourth set was much of the same as the teams continued to trade points with neither building a large lead. Eventually, kills by Beaver and Plew helped the Bruins take a 12-9 lead. The Valkyries answered right back with a run to take the lead before Plew again provided the spark to help the Bruins regain the lead 16-14. From there, the Bruins kept the upper hand as they held on for a 25-21 win to force a fifth and final set.
With just one set to decide a winner, the Bruins and Valkyries traded points as each took advantage of the other's mistakes. After kills by Beaver and Plew and an ace by Beaver, the Bruins held a 11-9 advantage forcing the Valkyries to call a timeout. Converse College was able to get three points to tie the set at 12-12.
Abby Plew again came up with a big kill to put the Bruins up 13-12 but the Valkyries answered right back with a kill to again tie it at 13-13. After Converse took the 14-13 lead, Brooke Beaver made a kill to tie it at 14-14. Unfortunately, the comeback fell short as a kill by Brittany Tepedino and an ace by Lauren Tharrington won the set for the Valkyries 18-16 and the match 3-2.
Brooke Beaver led the Bruins with 14 kills while Katherine Ring and Abby Plew each had 11. Plew also had 4 aces in the match while Brittany Annand finished with 45 assists. Next up, the Bruins will be on the road again on Thursday night as they face Montreat College in Montreat, North Carolina.
