The NCCAA DII National Championship match was one for the ages as the #2 seeded Bob Jones University Bruins and the #3 seeded Dallas Christian College Crusaders battled to a five-set thriller on Friday night in Greenville, South Carolina. The Crusaders rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set and the Bruins overame an eight-point deficit in the final set to capture their third-straight NCCAA DII National Championship with a 3-2 win.
"What an incredible match," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "Dallas is such a well-coached team and they did not give up despite being down 2-0 in the match. It might be the best national championship I've ever seen. Just an incredible effort by both teams in this one."
The Bruins came into the match on the heels of a win over #1 seeded Maranatha Baptist University in the national semifinal. They would meet the Crusaders who defeated #4 Randall University in a five-set thriller in the semifinal round. This would be the second time the two teams met in the tournament with the Bruins sweeping Dallas Christian 3-0 in the pool play round. Both teams took the court knowing only one would leave a champion as the match got underway.
In the opening set, the Bruins came out strong as Brittany Annand served five straight points with Brooke Beaver and Faith Rahn recording kills to help the team jump out to a 5-0 lead.
The Crusaders answered back, but the Bruins continued to find their rhythm offensively as Kayla Oberstar and Victoria Glaze picked apart the DCC defense. After a kill by Oberstar, the Bruins led 15-5 and despite quick runs by the Crusaders, the Bruins put the set away thanks to a kill and an ace by Faith Rahn to win 25-15.
As the second set began, the Bruins and Crusaders went back and forth trading points in the early stages of the set. The Bruins built an 8-4 lead thanks to errors by the Crusaders and a kill from Victoria Glaze.
Near the midway point of the set, the Crusaders battled back to tie 14-14 thanks to an ace by Hannah Gallegos and a kill from Elizabeth Morrow. The Bruins came right back as they scored three straight before Victoria Glaze and Kayla Oberstar added kills to make it 19-16. The Crusaders again mounted a rally as they came back to trail 23-22 in the set.
Coach Denny called a timeout for the Bruins and the team responded well out of the timeout as Brooke Beaver and Faith Rahn made kills to help the team hold on for a 25-22 win in set two. With the win, the Bruins took a 2-0 lead in the match and stood just one set away from a national title.
The Crusaders were on the verge of defeat, and they came out strong in the third set behind the pinpoint kills of Kelly Graves and Elizabeth Morrow as DCC led 8-4. The Bruins then rattled off five-straight points thanks to back to back aces from Victoria Glaze to lead 9-8.
Back and forth the two teams went with the Bruins hoping to finish off the Crusaders in three. The Crusaders took a 21-19 lead before Oberstar and Beaver again came up big for BJU with back to back kills to tie the set at 21-21.
The Bruins were just four points away from the win, but Christian Downey hammered home a kill to give the Crusaders a 24-22 lead. The Bruins then let the set slip away as an attack error by BJU gave the Crusaders a 25-23 win in set three to force a fourth set.
The Crusaders had staved off elimination and carried that momentum into the fourth set building an early 3-0 lead. The Bruins battled back as the set again remained very close with the margin of lead just a single-point throughout.
After a kill by Brooke Beaver, the Bruins trailed 19-18 but the Crusaders answered back with three straight points to lead 22-18. Emma Riddle hammered home a kill for the Bruins while Victoria Glaze and Brittany Annand also made kills as the Bruins battled back to tie 23-23.
Kayla Oberstar then gave the Bruins match point with a kill with to make it 24-23, just one point away from a championship. Instead, the Crusaders stunned the hometown crowd as they rattled off three straight points to win set four 26-24 and force a fifth and final set.
Momentum had swung completely to the Crusaders and it showed as the team stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the final set. Out of the timeout, Brooke Beaver made a kill, but the Crusaders scored the next three points to lead 8-1. The Davis Field House was silent as fans stood in disbelief at the incredible turn of events.
Lauren Baker made a kill for the Crusaders as they led 12-4, just three points away from completing a dramatic comeback. Coach Denny called a timeout and made a key substitution to put freshman Timbre Cruz into the match. Cruz made the most of her opportunity as she served eight-straight points for the Bruins as the team rallied back to tie the set at 12-12.
The Bruins had grabbed momentum as the hometown fans were on their feet with their hopes restored. The Crusaders then recorded back to back kills as they led 14-12 for match point. On the next play, the Crusaders made an attack error and followed it up with another error as the set tied at 14-14.
Again, the Crusaders got match point as they forced the Bruins into an attack error to lead 15-14. Brooke Beaver then put the team on her shoulders as she recorded a kill to tie at 15-15 before recording back to back kills to complete a dramatic comeback for the Bruins as the team won the set 17-15 and the match 3-2.
The Bruins stormed the court in celebration as the back and forth match had finally come to a close with the Bruins capturing their third-straight NCCAA DII national title.
"Timbre was the difference maker for us in that final set to help us win the national championship," Coach Denny said. "Her serve took them out of their offense and we kept just plugging away one point at a time. I couldn't be prouder of this team. They showed so much grit and so much determination in not giving up and I couldn't be more proud of our seniors who have worked so hard and now won three national championships for our program."
Brooke Beaver led the Bruins on the night with 21 kills and 29 digs in the match. Victoria Glaze finished with 15 kills and 21 digs while Brittany Annand had 55 assists in the win. The NCCAA annnounced the All-Tournament honors and seniors Brittany Annand and Brooke Beaver were named to the All-Tournament team while sophomore Victoria Glaze was voted as the tournament's most outstanding player.
The Bruins battled through a difficult 2020 season full of ups and downs and uncertainties. Still, the team continued to work hard and face their challenges head on. As a result, the Bruins won their fifth straight South Region championship before once again earning their spot atop Division II with their third consecutive national championship.
