The Bruins volleyball team had a strong Saturday of competition in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as the team swept Regent University and Piedmont International University in straight sets to improve to 16-3 on the season.
"It was a great team effort for us today," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "We played well together with very little errors. Several players stepped up for us over the course of both matches to help us get these wins."
The Bruins would be paired with Regent University in the opening match of the day. The Bruins stormed out to an early lead in the opening set thanks to great offensive flow and Laura Gaston and Brooke Beaver picking apart the Royals defense. The team never looked back as they cruised to a 25-7 win in the opening set.
In the second set, the Bruins picked up their momentum and continued to score seemingly at will. The Bruins serve was strong against the Royals as the team recorded seven aces throughout the match. The Royals tried to keep it close, but the Bruins again won convincingly in the second set 25-13 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
With a sweep in their sights, the Bruins stormed out with a massive run to open the third set. Gaston recorded her fourth ace of the match while Victoria Glaze came up with several kills. Defensively, the duo of Katherine Ring and Emma Riddle were a wall at the net as the pair recorded several blocks throughout the match. As a result, the Bruins finished off the Royals 25-5 to complete the sweep 3-0.
For the second match of the day, the Bruins faced the Piedmont International University Bruins. The battle of the Bruins was set to write its next chapter as BJU took the floor having never lost to PIU in four meetings.
In the opening set, the team relied on kills from Glaze and Beaver as they again took an early lead. PIU answered back with scoring of their own, but the Bruins were able to maintain the upper hand throughout as they opened the match with a 25-12 win in set one.
Piedmont International tried to answer back in the second set, but the Bruins defensive line anchored by Saleena Walker stood strong. Walker had 21 digs in the match and made several diving digs to keep plays alive. Her efforts fueled the Bruins as the team was able to hold on for a 25-18 win in set two to take a 2-0 match lead.
The Bruins had grabbed momentum and it showed in the third set as the team built a lead over PIU. Walker and Gaston had a brilliant serve in the match for the team as the pair combined for seven aces. PIU didn't go down without a fight but in the end, the Bruins were just too much to handle as BJU won the third set 25-16 to sweep Piedmont International 3-0.
"Our solid serving kept PIU from running their offense," Coach Denny said. "They struggled getting the ball to their big hitters and were out of system most of the match which helped us. It was a great team effort with very few errors committed during the match."
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road again on Monday night as they face Southern Wesleyan University in Central, South Carolina.
