The Bruins opened pool play at the NCCAA DII National Tournament on Thursday as the team swept #6 Boyce College 3-0. The Bruins were able to recover froma slow start to the match as the team went on to defeat the Bulldogs in straight sets.
"Hats off to Boyce as they really came out strong and pushed us," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "It took us a little bit to get going but we were able to find our rhythm and we're happy to be able to win that first game at nationals."
The Bruins came into the tournament after winning the South region championship as the team was seeded #3 overall. At nationals, the eight teams are split into two pools of four teams. The Bruins would play the first of their three pool play matches as they faced Boyce College in the first ever matchup between the two programs.
In the opening set, the Bruins and Bulldogs exchanged points and the early lead. The Bruins tried to keep pace but costly errors allowed the Bulldogs to build a 15-10 lead. From there, the Bruins were able to battle back as they went on a run fueled by kills from Emma Riddle and Katherine Hoopes to eventually tie the set at 17-17.
The Bruins and Bulldogs both looked to take the set win with score tied at 20-20. From there, the Bruins got back to back kills from Timbre Cruz and Faith Blalock as the team went on to win set one 25-22 over the Bulldogs.
In the second set, the Bruins began to find their groove as the team jumped out to a strong 10-1 lead. The Bruins were able to pick apart the Boyce defense with kills as they continued to extend their lead.
Later on in the set, a 7-0 run by the Bruins was capped off by a kill from Timbre Cruz as the team pushed their lead 18-4. From there, the Bruins never looked back as they went on to win set two 25-12 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Eyeing the sweep, the Bruins came out in set three looking to finish off the Bulldogs. The Bruins would take an early 3-1 lead but the Bulldogs bit back as the score remained close throughout the early goings.
Near the midway point of the set, the Bruins were able to extend their lead thanks to errors on Boyce as the team led 16-13. From there, the Bulldogs battled back but the Bruins continued to maintain the upper hand thanks to great defensive play at the net. As a result, the Bruins completed the sweep as they edged the Bulldogs 25-19 in set three to win the match 3-0.
"We had some good serving which took them out of our offense and our defense really did well late," Coach Denny said. "We need to regroup as we'll face two tough opponents tomorrow."
Katherine Hoopes led the Bruins with 8 kills while Timbre Cruz finished with 7. Katelyn Landkrohn led the team with 12 digs while Kiersten Hoopes finished with 22 assists.
Next up, the Bruins will play two pool play matches on Friday as the team faces #7 Welch College at 11:30 a.m. before facing #2 Arlington Baptist University at 3:30 p.m.
