The Bruins kept up their winning ways on Tuesday night as the team swept Johnson & Wales University 3-0 in the Davis Field House. The Bruins had a strong showing in their final home match of the regular season as the team improved to 19-4 on the season and posted their fifth straight win.
"We want to give a special shout out to our fans this season," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "The student body has really gotten behind us and gave us some great energy which we had again tonight. It was a good performance for us and we got a lot of great contributions from different players."
The Bruins came into the match on the heels of a 3-1 win over Carolina University on Friday night. Johnson & Wales entered Tuesday's match having won two of their last three including a 3-0 win over Allen University on Saturday. Earlier this season, the Bruins and Wildcats met in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the Bruins sweeping JWU on September 28.
In the first set, the Bruins jumped out to an early lead as Timbre Cruz recorded back to back aces and a kill to make it 6-2. The Wildcats tried to answer back, but the Bruins continued to pick apart the JWU defense with kills.
Later on in the set, a kill from Emily Via and an ace from Victoria Glaze made it 21-11 as the Bruins looked to close out the set. The Wildcats tried to mount a rally as they stormed back on a 6-2 run but the Bruins were able to finish off the set with Bailee Hunger making the kill to win 25-19.
The Bruins again had a strong start in set two as a pair of blocks and a kill from Emma Riddle helped BJU lead 6-3. The Bruins then went on a 6-0 run as kills from Cruz and Hunger made it 13-4. The Wildcats tried to claw their way back into the set, but a point for JWU resulted in an answer for the Bruins as they cruised to a 25-11 win in the second set to give the team a 2-0 lead in the match.
With a sweep in their sights, the Bruins came out looking to finish off the Wildcats. Again, the Bruins had a strong start to the set as an ace from Timbre Cruz and kills from Victoria Glaze and Emma Riddle helped the team lead 6-2.
Later on in the set, a 9-2 run pushed the lead to 15-5 as the Bruins continued to ride their momentum. The team then finished off the Wildcats as Emily Via made a pair of kills and Victoria Glaze added another to help the team score four-straight points to win the set 25-10 and the match 3-0.
"I was really pleased with our team effort," Coach Denny said. "Our setters were really connecting with our hitters and offensively we seemed to be working well together tonight. We're on the road from here on out but it is not a bad thing for us. This just prepares us for regionals and nationals to be able to play in someone else's gym."
Victoria Glaze led the Bruins with 11 kills and 3 aces on the night while Rachel Pattisall had 19 assists. Katelyn Landkrohn led the Bruins defensively with 11 digs as the Bruins had a .341 hitting percentage in the win.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road on Thursday as the team travels to Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia.
