The Bruins volleyball team rallied late in the first set to win and then carried that momentum into wins in sets two and three to sweep Brevard College 3-0 on Tuesday night in the Davis Field House. With the win, the Bruins improve to 17-4 on the season.
"Brevard came ready to play and they were hungry for a win," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "Our serve really got us back into the game and shifted momentum our way. Defensively we were able to play well and we just kept playing until we found holes to score."
The Bruins came into the match on the heels of back to back wins over Regent University and Emory & Henry College on Saturday. Brevard entered at 3-12 on the season having snapped their 3-match losing streak on Saturday.
Earlier this season, the Bruins and Tornados had battled up in North Carolina with the Bruins earning a 3-1 road win. The Bruin faithful were out in full voice as the two teams took the court for the match.
In set one, the score went back and forth before the Tornados went on an 8-1 run to take a 10-5 lead. Coach Denny called a timeout to try to stop the momentum and the Bruins regrouped as Timbre Cruz made a kill to cut into the lead.
The Bruins then went on a 7-0 run thanks to three straight aces from Rachel Pattisall and a kill from Kayla Oberstar as the team led 16-14. Back and forth the two teams went before the Tornados went on a run to rally and lead 23-21. Victoria Glaze stopped the rally with a kill as the Bruins closed the set scoring four-straight points to rally and win 25-23 in set one.
The comeback in set one swung momentum in the Bruins favor and it showed as the team stormed out to a 9-0 lead in set two. Rachel Pattisall again was dominant in the serve as she served six straight points for the Bruins including a pair of aces as the Bruins continued to push their lead. Brevard tried to answer back but the Bruins wouldn't be denied as a kill by Emma Riddle helped the team take a 2-0 lead with a 25-15 win in set two.
With a sweep on their minds, the Bruins again came out strong in the third set thanks to great serving. After a pair of kills by Victoria Glaze, the Bruins led 8-2 and looked to once again build a big lead. The Tornados had other plans as they battled back to trail 13-7.
Bailee Hunger then provided a kill for the Bruins followed by a four-point run for BJU as the team took a 18-9 lead. The Tornados tried to mount one last rally but the Bruins wouldn't be denied as Bailee Hunger and Timbre Cruz made kills to win the set 25-17 and the match 3-0.
"We have seen this season that we can play very well at times but we can also play very poorly," Coach Denny said. "If we can play our style of our game and not allow errors to come in we'll be very competitive going forward."
Victoria Glaze led the Bruins with a double-double 12 kills and 10 digs in the win. Rachel Patisall finished with 19 assists to go along with 6 aces while the Bruins defense combined for 63 digs in the match.
Next up, the Bruins will be home again on Friday night as the team welcomes Carolina University.
