The Bruins volleyball team got back on track on Thursday night as they swept Montreat College in straight sets to move to 14-3 on the season. Brooke Beaver and Victoria Glaze led the Bruins as the pair had 12 kills each in the win.
"Montreat was a very aggressive blocking team so we had to change up our offense," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "Brooke and Victoria came up big for us and Brooke also had four aces to help our offense."
The Bruins came into the match after suffering a tough loss on Tuesday night in a five-set thriller against Converse College. Still, the team was confident as they took the court against the Cavaliers having won eight of their last ten matches. Montreat College came into the match with a 5-11 record but a 5-1 conference record.
In the opening set, the Cavaliers took the first two points before Brooke Beaver made a kill for the Bruins as the score remained close early on. The Bruins took their first lead of the set after Katherine Ring made a kill to make it 8-7. The score remained close before an ace by Beaver and kills by Emma Riddle and Brittany Annand sparked a 6-0 run as the Bruins extended their lead 16-9.
It looked as though the Bruins would run away with the set but the home team came storming back with a run as the Cavaliers eventually lead 23-22. Thanks to a kill by Victoria Glaze and back to back errors on the Cavaliers, the Bruins took the opening set 25-23.
Montreat College again jumped out to an early lead in set two thanks to errors committed by the Bruins. The team eventually found their offensive rhythm as Beaver recorded two straight kills and Annand added another to help the Bruins lead 12-9.
The Cavaliers tried to answer back with a short run, but Victoria Glaze helped spark an 8-0 run for BJU as the team took a commanding 22-11 lead. The Bruins never looked back as they finished off Montreat 25-14 in the second set to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The Bruins had grabbed momentum and it showed as the team stormed out to a 6-0 lead in the third set thanks to four kills in a row by Victoria Glaze. The Cavaliers were back on their heels but looked to avoid the sweep as they slowly chipped away at the Bruins lead. Another 5-0 burst by the Bruins made it 15-7 as the team edged closer to the sweep.
The Cavaliers answered back with a 5-1 run of their own to cut into the lead, but the Bruins answered back with two kills from Brooke Beaver. Despite a short run by the Cavaliers late in the set, the Bruins were able to take the third set 25-18 to win the match 3-0.
"Our defensive effort led by Katherine up front and Walker on the backrow held their big hitters from scoring," Coach Denny said. "I felt like our aggressive serving helps score some critical points for us too."
Brittany Annand led the Bruins with 30 assists in the match while Brooke Beaver recorded 4 aces. Defensively, Victoria Glaze and Emma Riddle each had two solo blocks while Saleena Walker finished the match with 14 digs.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road again on Saturday for a tri-match in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Bruins will face Regent University at 3 p.m. before playing Piedmont International University at 5 p.m.
