After having their six-match winning streak snapped on Friday afternoon, the Bruins volleyball team got back to their winning ways on Saturday with back to back sweeps over Johnson University (FL) and Pensacola Christian College in Lakeland, Florida. With the wins, the Bruins improve to 8-1 on the season and 3-0 in region play.
"Today was a great day for our team," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "We were able to get two wins but more importantly we learned a lot. We got pushed and responded well to be able to win both matches in three."
The Bruins came into the match on the heels of splitting their Friday tri-match. The team swept Trinity Baptist College in the first match of the day, but came up short against Southeastern University in the second match of the day.
On Saturday, the Bruins would face two NCCAA DII South region opponents as the team looked to wrap up their Florida road trip on a high note. In the first match of the day, the Bruins would face the Suns of Johnson University (FL). This would be the 12th meeting between the two programs with the Bruins owning an 11-0 record against JUFL.
In the opening set, Emily Via and Victoria Glaze made kills to help the Bruins take a 4-1 lead. The Suns were able to answer back, but the Bruins responded as back to back kills from Victoria Glaze helped the team extend their lead. After an ace from Kayla Oberstar, the Bruins led 19-10 and although the Suns made a late run, a kill by Oberstar held off Johnson with BJU winning 25-21 in set one.
The Bruins again found themselves with an early lead in set two as Victoria Glaze made a kill and Katelyn Landkrohn an ace to give the team a 4-1 lead. Again, the Suns were able to battle their way back as they scored four straight points thanks to back to back kills from Johanlly Sosa.
The Bruins answered back with five-straight points to take a 16-10 lead. The team was able to maintain their upper hand as Emily Via hammered down a kill to give the team a 25-17 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
In set three, the Suns came out looking to avoid the sweep as the score remained close with several lead changes early on. After errors by the Bruins and a kill by Johanlly Sosa, the Suns took a 9-7 lead. Johnson continued to find holes in the Bruins defense as they went on a run to lead 16-11.
It looked as though the Suns would force a fourth set, but the Bruins came roaring back thanks to three aces from Victoria Glaze and kills from Emma Riddle and Camila Silva. The team ended the match on a 9-0 run as a kill from Riddle won the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
Victoria Glaze led the Bruins with a double-double 13 kills and 12 digs to go along with 3 aces in the win. Katelyn Landkrohn led the team defensively with 28 digs in the match.
For the second match of the day, the Bruins would face off against rival Pensacola Christian College. In the opening set, Hannah Prince recorded an ace before the Bruins scored five-straight points to take a 7-2 lead. The Eagles answered back with back to back kills from Brittney Hunter but the Bruins continued to answer back and keep the lead.
Later on in the set, an ace by Kayla Oberstar and back to back kills from Victoria Glaze helped the Bruins lead 20-12. From there, the Bruins closed out the set as a kill by Emma Riddle helped the Bruins finish off the Eagles 25-17 in set one.
In the second set, the Eagles recorded back to back points to begin but the Bruins answered back with kills from Emily Via and Victoria Glaze as the team led 6-4. Another key run in the midway point of the set helped the Bruins stretch their lead to 16-9. Again, the Bruins held off the Eagles late rally attempts as they took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 24-18 win in set two.
The Bruins came out in set three looking to complete the sweep and it showed as kills from Oberstar and Glaze helped the team lead 9-5. The Bruins then went on an 11-2 run as kills from Via, Glaze, Prince, and Riddle helped the team take a 21-8 lead. From there, the team never looked back as a kill from Bailee Hunger helped the Bruins win set three 25-9 and the match 3-0.
Victoria Glaze had 10 kills for the Bruins while Emma Riddle finished with 8 and Emily Via 7 in the win. Hannah Prince had 16 assists for the team while Katelyn Landkrohn was the only player in double-digits for digs with 12 in the match.
The Bruins wrapped up their four-game Florida road trip with three region wins. Next up, the Bruins will return home as the team welcomes Piedmont College to the Davis Field House on Tuesday night.
