The Bruins volleyball team is headed back to the NCCAA DII National Championship match for the fifth-straight season as the team upset top-ranked Manhattan Christian College 3-0 in the national semifinal. With the win, the Bruins will advance to play the winner of the other semifinal between #2 Arlington Christian University and #4 Maranatha Baptist University.
"We knew we were going to have to play really good defense in this match and our team really stepped up," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "We were able to keep balls in play which helped us keep the score close. I am so proud of this team and how they stepped up in this match."
The Bruins came into the match after going 2-1 in pool play at the national tournament. Their two wins were enough to advance to the final four but the team knew they would have to be at their best as they battled Manhattan who came into the semifinal after going 3-0 in pool play. The two teams took the court in a rematch of last year's national semifinal as each knew only one would go on to compete for a championship.
In the opening set, the Thunder came out strong as an ace and two kills handed them a 4-1 lead. The Bruins regrouped as kills from Timbre Cruz and Emma Riddle helped even the set at 5-5. From there, the two teams went back and forth with the score remaining within a point or two as the two teams eventually tied at 17-17.
The Bruins then scored three straight points as Riddle made a kill as well as Kiersten and Katherine Hoopes to help BJU lead 19-17. The Bruins then scored another three straight as Katherine Hoopes hammered down another kill to make it 22-18. The Bruins then finished off the set as Faith Blalock made the kill to win set one 25-20.
In set two, the Thunder again found the early lead but the Bruins didn't back down as three-straight points helped the team lead 6-5. The Thunder kept pace but the Bruins remained on top thanks to great defensive digs in keeping the ball alive.
Later on in the set, again the score was knotted at 17-17. Katherine Hoopes and Timbre Cruz then provided back to back kills which gave the Bruins the upper hand. Two kills from Emma Riddle late proved crucial as the Bruins again held off the Thunder to win set two 25-21 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In set three, the Bruins came out with momentum and it showed as the team jumped out to an early 5-2 lead. The Bruins continued to keep momentum as they stretched their lead to 13-7 thanks to back to back errors by the Thunder.
The Bruins looked to put the match away but the Thunder refused to back down and rallied late to cut the deficit to 18-17. The Bruins stood strong and scored the next three points as Emma Riddle recorded a pair of kills to make it 21-17.
Later on, Riddle gave the Bruins match point as a kill made it 24-20. The Thunder mounted one last rally as they scored four-straight points to tie the set at 24-24 and forcing the Bruins into a timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Bruins got a big kill from Kyra Rickard to again reach match point and the team stormed the court in celebration after a kill attempt from Thunder player Liv Lubbers landed just wide out of bounds to give the Bruins a 26-24 win in set three and a 3-0 sweep of the match.
"We have a young team and they played so well today," Coach Denny said. "Then to have our senior Emma step up the way that we did was huge. Now we have the opportunity to compete in our last match of the season this evening and hope to finish strong."
The Bruins had 76 digs together as a team in a strong defensive performance. Five different players recorded double-digit digs with Katelyn Landkrohn leading the way with 19 in the match. Offensively, the Bruins were led by 34 assists from Kiersten Hoopes and 11 kills from Emma Riddle.
Next up, the Bruins volleyball team will look to win their fifth-straight NCCAA DII National Championship as they take the court again at 5 p.m. in Kissimmee, Florida.
