The Bob Jones University beach volleyball team picked up a 3-2 win over St. Andrews University in one of their three games up in Laurinburg, North Carolina this weekend. It was a 3-2 decision in their match against Truett McConnell University as well as their second duel against St. Andrews University. The Bruins are now 3-8 in their inaugural season.

"We continue to learn that flexibility is the key to the beach game," said Head Coach Vickie Denny. "Every difficult circumstance must be embraced and changing elements must be dealt with constantly. On Friday it was being down a court with the schedule running over 2 hours behind and fighting hard to secure a duel win against St. Andrews and then battling until dark to be left with one more match before a winner could be declared against Truett McConnell. Friday was long day and our turnaround was short as we went into Saturday's matches."

It was a long day on the courts on Friday as the teams only had two courts to play on due to weather conditions. When the Bruins finally took to the sand, the pairing of Emma Riddle and Eden Swihart played their best match of the season winning in two straight sets, 21-9 and 21-11, to secure the win over the Knights. After falling in their first set, Hannah Prince and Caroline Smith came back to win their second 21-17 and in their final set they defeated St. Andrews 15-13. Caitlyn Benson and Bailee Hunger beat the Knights in set one of their match, and after St. Andrews forced a third set the Bruins fought to win 17-15 in the final set. With these match wins, the Bruins came away with the 3-2 victory over St. Andrews University.

As the sun began to set and rain began to fall, the Bob Jones and Truett McConnell duel ended early and was set to resume the next morning with the final match being the decider. On Saturday morning in the duel deciding match, Caroline Smith and Andrea Villaverde, who was subbed in as an alternate due to sickness, won their first set over the Bears, but Truett McConnell came back to win the match and ultimately the game. The Bruins will get one more chance at redemption over the Bears next weekend in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The Bruins looked to pick up another win against St. Andrews University on Saturday, but due to sickness new pairs needed to be placed together, and the Bruins weren't able to get into a rhythm as they fell 3-2 to end the weekend.

"In the beach game, partners develop close ties learning how to play together so when changes need to be made it isn't always easy to make those adjustments in such a short turnaround time," said Coach Denny. "Overall I am proud how different individuals are stepping up and working hard to contribute. What doesn't break us will make us stronger as we head into the last few weeks of our first beach season."

Up next, the Bruins will head to Spartanburg, South Carolina to face off against Spartanburg Methodist College and Truett McConnell University on March 26. 

Tweet #WeAreBruins    Tweet #BruinsBeach