The hometown crowd was out in full voice in the Davis Field House on Friday night as the Bruins swept South Region rival Pensacola Christian College 3-0. With tonight's victory, the Bruins move to 5-0 in region play and are now 13-3 on the season.
"We always look forward to this match and having them come to our house. I felt like my girls were ready to play." Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "The crowd was great! We love the atmosphere they generate. They've been doing that all season long, but tonight was a little bit extra. We stuck to the game plan and were able to execute. It was a great team win for us tonight."
The Bruins came into tonight's game after a region sweep against Toccoa Falls College on Tuesday evening. The team was looking for a back to back South Region win against Pensacola Christian College who came into tonight's match 4-9 on the season.
The Eagles got to an early 2-0 lead in the opening set, but the Bruins quickly responded with two more points after an error by the Eagles followed by a kill by Victoria Glaze. It was a back and forth effort from both teams throughout the first set, but the Bruins were able to pull out the win in the opening set 25-18.
The Eagles would once again get on the board first in the second set, but after some back and forth play, the Bruins would go on a run as an ace from Rachel Pattisall and a kill by Camila Silva would give the Bruins the 9-4 lead. The Bruins would close out the second set 25-17 on a five point run thanks to kills from Victoria Glaze and Emma Riddle as well as an ace from Rachel Pattisall.
The Bruins came out looking to finish the sweep in the third set, but the Eagles wouldn't go down without a fight. A kill and an ace would help Pensacola once again get on the score sheet first in the third set, but after a kill by Victoria Glaze, an ace by Britney Hunter and an attack error by the Eagles would give the Bruins the slight lead of 4-3.
The Bruins would double their lead after kills by Victoria Glaze, Camila Silva as well as an ace from Rachel Pattisall gave them the 8-4 lead. Although the Eagles continued to make short rallies, the Bruins would complete their sweep as the team won 25-17 in the third set to win the match 3-0.
"Our offense was clicking really well," said Denny. "We were not one dimensional tonight, which sometimes we have been. Our hitters stepped up big time for us and contributed."
Victoria Glaze led the team with 13 kills and 11 digs, but Emma Riddle was close behind with 10 kills on the evening. Kayla Oberstar and Katelyn Landkron both ended the night with 9 digs a piece.
The women's volleyball team have rare Saturday off, and will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina next Tuesday to take on Johnson & Wales University.
