The Bruins continued preseason play on Saturday afternoon as the team welcomed Johnson University (TN). The Bruins defeated the Royals in both matches (3-2) and (3-1) respectively.
The Bruins came into the match on the heels of competing in the blue/white intramural scrimmage on Saturday. The last time the Bruins played the Royals, they were competing for the NCCAA DII National Championship. This time, it was just a friendly pair of scrimmages as the Bruins and Royals took the floor.
In the opening match, the Bruins and Royals played their reserves with the Bruins jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead in the match winning set one 25-16 and set two 25-23. The Royals roared back with a 25-23 win in set three before forcing a fifth set with a commanding 25-13 win in set four.
The Bruins responded well in the final set as they jumped out to an 8-4 lead. The Bruins then held off a late rally by the Royals as they finished out the match with a 15-10 win to finish the match 3-2.
In the second match of the day, the Bruins and Royals played their varsity squads and the two teams picked up where they left off in the national championship last year as the match went back and forth early on.
The Royals were able to edge the Bruins 25-20 in set one but the Bruins came roaring back with a convincing 25-10 win in set two. Timbre Cruz and Emma Riddle helped the Bruins pull away as the match was tied 1-1.
Both teams went back and forth with the score remaining close in the early stages of set three. The Bruins then pulled ahead and scored five straight points before Timbre Cruz hammered a kill to give the team a 25-19 win in set four.
With a 2-1 lead, the Bruins came out strong in the early goings of the fourth set. The Royals refused to back down and came clawing back late to take a 23-21 lead. The Bruins bounced back with four straight points as they won set four 25-23 and the match 3-1.
"I like what I am seeing at this point in our preseason," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "We had a lot of young players with not a lot of experience step up big for us today. We showed some maturity today against a tough opponent and had the opportunity to play several different combinations. Overall, we like where we are at and look to continue to improve."
Next up, the Bruins will play their final tune up prior to the start of the regular season as they play a scrimmage tri-match on Tuesday night against Converse University and Truett-McConnell University.
