The Bruins volleyball team split their home tri-match on Friday night as the team defeated Carolina University 3-1 before falling to Life University 3-1. Brooke Beaver led the Bruins on the day with 28 kills to go along with 27 digs. After today's matches, the Bruins move to 4-3 on the season.
"The goal for this week was for us to play up to our potential," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "I thought tonight, although we made a few errors, I thought we played close to our potential. We want to continue to build on this. We're a young team but I was pleased we had several freshmen step up for us tonight."
The Bruins took some time before their second match of the day as they honored the two seniors on the team in Brittany Annand and Brooke Beaver. The pair has been instrumental in the Bruins successes these past three seasons, including leading the team to back to back NCCAA DII National Championships.
The Bruins came into today's matches on the heels of splitting a road tri-match last weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee. For the first match of the day, the Bruins would face Carolina University. Just two weeks ago, the Bruins battled Carolina in a five-set thriller but came up short in a road loss. The Bruins looked to avenge that earlier season loss as they took the court in front of their hometown fans.
In the opening set, Carolina came out with an early 6-1 lead thanks to kills by Maya Gray and Jill Jones and an ace from Kamra King. The Bruins responded well as the team went on an 8-0 run thanks to back to back kills from Beaver and Emma Riddle and two aces.
As the set wore on, both teams went back and forth before a kill by Brooke Beaver gave the Bruins a 19-16 lead. Errors hurt Carolina down the stretch as the Bruins closed the set on a 5-1 run to take the opener 25-21.
Both teams went back and forth in the second set with neither able to build a sizable lead. Several times the score was tied before Carolina scored six-straight points to lead 14-10. Again, the Bruins responded well as they battled back with kills from Riddle and Beaver to take a 20-18 lead.
The set came down to the wire, eventually leading into extra points as the score was tied 25-25. Despite having set point several times, Carolina struggled to put the Bruins away. A service error by Victoria Glaze and a kill by Chiara Morrola gave Carolina the edge as they took set two 30-28 to even the match 1-1.
In the third set, the Bruins came out strong thanks to a 7-1 run in the early stages as the team took a 10-5 lead. Carolina errors allowed the Bruins to extend their lead before a kill from Victoria Glaze pushed the Bruins to lead 16-11. Although Carolina closed the gap, the Bruins were able to hang on to win set three 25-20 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Carolina looked to stave off defeat in the fourth set as the two teams traded points and the lead. Near the midway point of the set, Carolina went on a 6-1 run to take a 17-13 lead. Brooke Beaver came up big for the Bruins with back to back kills and an ace as the team charged back to tie the set 19-19.
The Bruins had grabbed momentum and finshed off the match as Brittany Annand and Timbre Cruz recorded an ace and Brooke Beaver finished off Carolina with a kill to win set four 25-21 and the match 3-1. Beaver led the Bruins with a double-double in the match with 16 kills and 15 digs.
In the second match of the night, the Bruins would face Life University in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Running Eagles would also be playing their 2020 season opener after having just defeated Carolina University 3-1 in the match before.
The Bruins came out strong in the opening set as kills from Victoria Glaze, Kayla Oberstar and Faith Rahn helped BJU take a 5-1 lead. The Bruins kept up the momentum as another 6-1 run pushed the team's lead to 13-6. Although the Running Eagles tried to find their rhythm, the Bruins continued to make kills with pinpoint accuracy as they went on to win set one 25-17.
Both teams traded points in the second set before the Running Eagles took a 10-7 lead thanks to a kill from Lena Pucnik and an attack error by the Bruins. Life University kept the lead and extended it with four-straight points to take a 21-13 lead. The Bruins couldn't seem to recover as they fell in set two 25-19 to even the match 1-1.
The Running Eagles had stolen momentum and they kept it in set three building a 6-1 advantage out of the gate. The Bruins tried to chip away at the lead, but it seemed one point for the Bruins would result in multiple for the Running Eagles.
Near the midway point of the set, the Running Eagles had a kill from Caitlyn Neal and an attack error on the Bruins to lead 20-14. It looked as though Life University would run away with the set, but Katelyn Landkrohn had other plans as the freshman served seven straight points as the Bruins charged back to lead 21-20. Unfortunately, the run was short-lived as the Running Eagles came back with three-straight points and went on to win the set 25-23.
In set four, the Bruins again found themselves in an early hole as they trailed 6-2. However, the team again used a 7-0 run near the midway point of the set to battle back and lead 18-15. After an attack error by the Running Eagles, the Bruins found themselves with a 21-17 lead as they looked to force a fifth set. The Running Eagles had other plans as they bounced back with five straight points to lead 22-21.
The Bruins came right back, eventualy getting to set point 24-23 thanks to errors by the Running Eagles. The set would again go extra as the two teams tied 25-25, then 26-26, and 27-27. After an error by the Bruins, Lena Pucnik finished off the match with a kill as the Bruins fell 29-27 in the set and 3-1 in the match.
"With our freshmen learning quickly and our upperclassmen continuing to improve, I think the best is yet to come," Coach Denny said.
Brooke Beaver had another double-double on the day with 12 kills and 12 digs to go along with four aces. Brittany Annand finished the match with 17 assists and 9 digs while freshmen Kayla Oberstar and Katelyn Landkrohn each had double-digit digs.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road Tuesday night as they face region-rival Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa, Georgia.
