The Bruins volleyball team moved to 4-0 to open the season as the team defeated Johnson University (TN) and Lancaster Bible College on Saturday in the Davis Field House. The Bruins battled in both matches and came away with two 3-1 wins.
"It was great to come away this weekend with four wins and hopefully this will be a good jump start to our season," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said.
The Bruins came into the day on the heels of back to back sweeps on Friday. In the first match of the day, the Bruins would be paired with the Royals of Johnson University (TN). This would be the seventh matchup between the two programs with the Bruins and Royals splitting their matches last season.
In the opening set, the Bruins and Royals went back and forth trading points and the early lead. Victoria Glaze gave the Bruins a boost with a kill and Rachel Pattisall added an ace as the team led 12-9. The Royals answered right back with a kill from Emma Hannaford as Johnson trailed 15-13. The Bruins then went on a 6-0 run thanks to kills from Bailee Hunger and Emma Riddle and an ace from Hannah Prince. The Royals tried to respond but the Bruins went on to close out the set 25-17.
The Bruins built an early lead in set two as kills from Bailee Hunger, Victoria Glaze, and Kayla Oberstar pushed the lead to 8-4. The Royals answered back with points but the Bruins maintained their lead thanks to good defensive play and well-placed kills. Still, the Royals refused to back down as back to back kills from Kailyn Wilkerson fueled at rally to tie the game at 14-14.
Another key run for the Bruins pushed the team ahead as Hannah Prince provided an ace and Kayla Oberstar a kill to help BJU lead 21-15. The Royals again mounted a late comeback, but the Bruins were able to close out set two 25-21.
The Bruins came out looking to complete the sweep in set three as Victoria Glaze recorded a kill and Rachel Pattisall added an ace to make it 3-0 out of the gate. The Royals answered back, but again the Bruins kept the slim lead thanks to kills from Glaze and Hunger.
Near the midway point of the set, the Royals used a 4-0 run to get back into the game thanks to a pair of kills from Jensen Davis. Later on, another 4-0 run gave the Royals the lead as the Bruins trailed 18-16. Kayla Oberstar recorded back to back kills to tie the set at 18-18 but the Royals came right back eventually forcing a fourth set as a kill by Harley Shumaker gave the Royals a 25-21 win.
The Royals put the Bruins back on their heels and continued to ride the momentum into set four as they jumped out to a 4-1 lead. A kill by Gentry McReynolds continued to extend the lead as the Bruins were looking for an answer trailing 7-3. Bailee Hunger stopped the bleeding with a kill and Hannah Prince provided another ace as the Bruins battled back to tie the set at 9-9. From there, the two teams traded points with the Royals maintaining a slim lead.
The Bruins bounced back with a 5-0 run later in the set thanks to a pair of kills from Emma Riddle as the Bruins led 18-17. After another kill by Camila Silva, the Bruins had the win within their sights and wouldn't be denied as Timbre Cruz and Bailee Hunger each made kills to win the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
Victoria Glaze led the Bruins with a double-double 14 kills and 14 digs while Bailee Hunger also had 12 kills in the win. Timbre Cruz led the Bruins defensively with 20 digs while Hannah Prince finished the match with 4 aces.
"Johnson is a hard team to beat but we did a great job of regrouping in the match to get the win," Coach Denny said. "They always play well and are well-coached and I was proud of our team for how they responded."
In the second match of the day, the Bruins would face Lancaster Bible College in the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Chargers came into the match on the heels of going 2-1 in their last three matches of the weekend.
The Bruins jumped out to an early 6-3 lead as Victoria Glaze provided a kill and a pair of aces. The Bruins continued to keep the lead as the team was able to use their serve very effectively throughout the set. The Chargers came right back as a kill by Cassidy King sparked a 5-0 run to help LBC lead 15-14.
From there, the Bruins tried to chip away at the lead but each point was answered by the Chargers as LBC continued to have the upper hand. Camila Silva made a kill for back to back points, but errors were costly for the Bruins in the late stages as the Chargers held on to win set one 25-23.
In set two, both teams remained close early on with neither able to build a sizable lead. Emma Riddle made a kill for the Bruins as the team scored three-straight points to lead 8-7. The score continued to remain close with the two teams training points eventually leading to the Chargers holding an 18-16 advantage.
Emma Riddle then made a kill for the Bruins and Katelyn Landkrohn provided three-straight aces as the Bruins rallied to lead 21-18. From there, the Bruins held off the Chargers as they evened the match 1-1 with a 25-21 win in set two.
Set three told a similar story as the score again was close throughout the early stages. Each point for the Bruins was answered by a point from the Chargers with the Bruins eventually leading 9-6 thanks to a kill from Camila Silva.
Near the midway point of the set, the Chargers scored four-straight points but the Bruins answered back with four-straight points of their own as they led 17-15. The score continued to remain close with the teams eventually drawing even at 22-22. Victoria Glaze and Kayla Oberstar each recorded kills to give the Bruins set point before a block by Emma Riddle and Bailee Hunger sealed the win 25-22 to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead.
In set four, the Bruins jumped out to an early lead thanks to aces from Timbre Cruz and Rachel Pattisall and a kill from Bailee Hunger. The Chargers tried to bounce back, but the Bruins kept up the pressure as they found spaces for kills in the LBC defense.
Later on in the set, a kill from Bailee Hunger pushed the Bruins lead to 19-13. From there, the Bruins never looked back as they won the fourth set 25-16 and the match 3-1.
"Dropping the first set of a match is always tough but we responded well," Coach Denny said. "I felt like at times we still gave away too many points throughout, but overall this was a great win for us. We showed we can play good floor defense and our blocking game was really strong as well. It was a great day overall for us and it was a great tournament."
Victoria Glaze powered the Bruins with 16 kills to go along with 21 digs in the match while Emma Riddle finished with 9 kills and 5 block assists. The Bruins played great floor defense in the match as the team combined for 82 digs in the win.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road on Wednesday as the team will face Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina.
