The Bruins notched their 20th win of the regular season on Tuesday night as the team swept Paine College 3-0 in Augusta, Georgia. With the win, the Bruins improve to 20-10 on the season.
"After a slow start, we were able to find our offense late in the first set," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "We continued to battle back in set two and our defensive play changed the momentum for us and helped us finish the match in three."
The Bruins came into the match looking to get back on track as the team had struggled of late losing four of their last five matches including back to back losses to Bluefield College and Johnson University (TN) on Saturday.
Paine College came into the matchup on Tuesday at 2-17 on the season having lost four in a row. These two teams met October 1 in Greenville as the Bruins swept the Lions 3-0 in straight sets. The Bruins were hoping history would repeat itself as the two teams took the court at the Heal Complex.
In the opening set, the hometown Lions jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after Soleil Johnson recorded a kill and Makayla Evans an ace. The Bruins began to battle back as a kill and an ace from Timbre Cruz helped the team cut into the Lions lead.
The Lions continued to maintain the upper hand but the Bruins remained within striking distance as kills from Katherine Hoopes and Faith Blalock helped the team battle back to tie the set at 18-18.
From there, the two teams went back and forth with several ties and lead changes before settling at 25-25 thanks to a kill from Emma Riddle. From there, the Bruins took set one after an ace from Riddle and a kill from Timbre Cruz as the team won 27-25.
The Lions were determined to battle back and it showed as again Paine jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in set two. The Bruins remained composed and chipped away at the lead.
Near the midway point of the set, a 4-1 run by the Bruins helped the team battle back and tie the set at 15-15 thanks to back to back aces from Anne Lloyd. The Bruins then continued to carry that momentum as the team went on a 6-0 run to take a 23-17 lead before defeating the Lions 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In set three, the Bruins came out looking to complete the sweep and come away with a road win. The two teams traded point before the Bruins scored four-straight thanks to kills from Katherine Hoopes and Emma Riddle as the team led 7-5.
The score continued to remain close with neither team able to build a sizable lead. The set eventually tied at 17-17 as the Lions looked to extend the match. Instead, the Bruins were fueled by three kills from Emma Riddle as the team scored five-straight points to take a 22-18 lead. The Lions tried to battle back but the Bruins wouldn't be denied as they completed the sweep with a 25-19 win in set three.
"We got great contributions off the bench tonight," Coach Denny said. "That was key for us to get the win on the road."
Emma Riddle led the Bruins with 12 kills on the night while Katherine Hoopes finished with a double-double 11 kills and 12 digs. Kiersten Hoopes tallied 39 assists for the Bruins while Katelyn Landkrohn had a strong defensive match with 23 digs in the win.
Next up, the Bruins will wrap up the regular season on Saturday as the team competes in a tri-match in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Bruins will face Regent University in the first match of the day before facing Carolina University in the regular season finale.
