The Bruins volleyball team suffered their first loss of the NCCAA DII National Tournament on Friday afternoon as the team fell to #4 Johnson University (TN) 3-1 in a hard fought match. Adding to it, the Bruins also lost All-American Victoria Glaze as the captain was injured during warmups.
"Having Vic go down in warmups was devastating," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "But I am so proud of how our young team regrouped, played a lineup we have never used this year and played with so much grit and heart to the very last point."
Coming into today's match, both the Bruins and Royals had secured a spot in the final four after each team won both of their matches to open pool play. Friday's match would determine seeding for the final four as both teams took the court.
In the opening set, the score remained close before the Royals went on an 9-1 run to take a 11-4 lead in the set. The Bruins responded later on with a five-point run thanks to kills from Camila Silva and Kayla Oberstar. Still, the Royals continued to maintain their lead and held off the Bruins late rally to win set one 25-21.
The Bruins came out strong in the second set as kills from Timbre Cruz and Camila Silva helped the team jump out to a 6-1 lead. The Royals began to battle back as they slowly chipped away at the lead but key kills kept the Bruins on top.
After the score tied at 17-17, a big kill by Silva sparked a 5-1 run for the Bruins as the team led 23-18. Emma Riddle helped to even the match at 1-1 with a kill as the Bruins took set two 25-20.
In set three, the score remained close in the early goings with the Royals maintaining a slim lead. The Bruins battled back to tie the set at 13-13 after a big block by Camila Silva. There were several ties and lead changes throughout the remainder of the set, before Johnson (TN) scored four straight thanks to back to back kills from Jensen Davis to lead 23-18. The Bruins tried to mount one last rally, but the Royals finished off set three 25-21 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Royals had grabbed momentum and it showed as they jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. The Royals then went on a 6-0 run later in the set as they pushed their lead to 13-6. The Bruins refused to back down as they battled all the way back to tie the set at 17-17. The two teams went back and forth down the stretch with both getting to set point. Hannah Lukey then finished the match for the Royals with an ace as Johnson (TN) defeated the Bruins 28-26 to win the match 3-1.
Camila Silva led the Bruins with 13 kills while Kayla Oberstar had 10 in the match to go along with 16 digs. The Bruins put in a spirited effort despite being without their captain for the match.
Next up, the Bruins will advance to the final four and there opponent will be determined by other results from the tournament happening on Friday.
