The top-seeded Bruins had a strong open to the 2021 NCCAA DII National Tournament on Thursday morning as the team swept #8 seeded Maranatha Baptist University in Kissimmee, Florida. Victoria Glaze led the Bruins with 13 kills, 4 digs and 2 block assists in the win.
"We came ready to compete today," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "Everyone stepped up and contributed and it was a great team win. We had great rhythm offensively while playing solid defense."
The Bruins stormed out of the gate in the opening set as the team went on an 8-0 run powered by kills from Victoria Glaze as they jumped out to a 10-1 lead. The Sabercats tried to respond, but the Bruins continued to pick apart the MBU defense with kills as they stretched their lead to 20-10. Maranatha went on a run late, but the deficit was too much to overcome as the Bruins took set one 25-18.
The score remained close throughout the early goings of set two with the Sabercats eventually building a 9-6 lead thanks to kills from Jennifer Rueb and Caitrin Kemlo. The Bruins battled back to tie the set as Camila Silva made back to back kills to tie it at 10-10. The score then went back and forth before kills from Rachel Pattisall and Timbre Cruz helped BJU lead 15-13.
As the set continued, the Bruins maintained their slim lead before the team went on a 6-1 run to lead 24-18. After back to back points from the Sabercats, Bailee Hunger finished off the set with a kill to give the Bruins a 25-20 win and 2-0 lead in the match.
In set three, the Bruins came out looking to complete the sweep and it showed as the team jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Later on, the Bruins scored four-straight points thanks to kills from Emma Riddle and Kayla Oberstar as they stretched their lead to 12-5.
The Sabercats tried to rally, but couldn't seem to slow the Bruins as a kill and an ace from Victoria Glaze increased the lead to 20-9. The Bruins then closed the set strong as two kills from Kayla Oberstar finished off the set 25-16 and the match 3-0.
The Bruins offense was working well as Victoria Glaze made 13 kills while Timrbe Crz had 9 and Kayla Oberstar had 8. Newcomer Eden Swihart led the team with 19 assists in the win while Kayla Oberstar finished with 10 digs.
Next up, the Bruins will play their second match of pool play on Thursday evening as they face #5 Faith Baptist Bible College in Kissimmee, Florida.
