The Bruins volleyball team opened the 2020 season strong as they swept Toccoa Falls College 3-0 on Friday night in the Davis Field House in Greenville, South Carolina. With the win, the Bruins move to 1-0 on the season and 1-0 in region play.
"It was a great team effort tonight," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "I was pleased how we came out as we came out focused and had some good serves early on. Different people stepped up at different times for us to get the win tonight."
In the opening set, Emma Riddle sparked the Bruins with a big block while Victoria Glaze and Brooke Beaver added kills to help the team jump out to an 8-3 lead. After an Eagles' timeout, TFC came roaring back with a run as they cut the lead to 10-9.
Riddle again came up big as she powered a cross court kill and then kept up the momentum with key kills to put the Bruins up 17-12. Out of the timeout, Riddle had another block as the Bruins closed out the first set on a 14-2 run to win 25-12 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second set, freshman Timbre Cruz started things off with a kill as the Bruins again jumped out to an early lead. The Screaming Eagles were hoping to claw their way back into the game but Riddle again hammered down a kill to keep the lead 10-5.
Near the midway point of the set, the Screaming Eagles went on a run as they cut the lead to 15-13. Victoria Glaze stopped the bleeding with a kill and Brooke Beaver followed with three kills to help the Bruins stretch their lead. After a timeout, kills by Beaver and Glaze and an ace by Glaze helped the Bruins finish off set two winning 25-17 to take a 2-0 lead.
The Bruins were eyeing the sweep and it showed as they came out strong again to begin the set building a 6-2 lead. The Screaming Eagles couldn't find their rhythm as several service errors in a row allowed the Bruins to push their lead. After a kill by Brooke Beaver, TFC called their final timeout as the Bruins led 18-10.
With their backs against the wall, the Screaming Eagles came back looking to avoid the sweep as they rallied to trail 20-15. The Bruins responded as Timbre Cruz recorded an ace before the Bruins finished off the Bruins were able to close out the set 25-19 to win the match 3-0 and complete the sweep.
"I felt like we lost some of our focus in the final set, but we were able to get those last five points and get the victory," Coach Denny said. "We're going to keep working on our defense as we weren't happy with some of the things we saw tonight, but it was the first game and you get that one out of the way with the jitters and now we can focus on what is ahead."
Brooke Beaver led the Bruins with 13 kills in the match while Emma Riddle had 8 kills. Victoria Glaze added seven kills and four aces while Brittany Annand had 17 assists and Faith Rahn had 13 assists in the win. Defensively, Timbre Cruz had 11 digs in the match while Emma Riddle had two solo blocks.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road on Friday night as they face Carolina University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Tip-off for the match is set for 5 p.m.
