The Bruins volleyball team battled back to force a fifth set and then carried that momentum to a 3-2 win over Brevard College on Thursday night in front of the hometown fans in the Davis Field House. With the win, the Bruins impove to 6-4 on the season having won five straight matches.
"I am proud of how we came together tonight to get the win," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "We are a young team and we're a team that has had a lot of five-set matches this season. These are good learning experiences for us whether we win or lose."
The Bruins came into the match on the heels of a great performance last weekend in the NCCAA DII South Region Kickoff tournament as the team came away with four region wins in Pensacola, Florida.
Brevard entered Thursday's match having dropped four straight including back to back matches to Bridgewater and Berea on Saturday. After nine matches on the road, the Bruins were excited to be on their home court in front of the hometown fans.
In the opening set, the Tornados came out strong as a kill by Jaxson Tumicki helped Brevard jump out to a 6-1 lead. The Bruins regrouped and began to chip away at the deficit. Later on in the set, a four-point run was sparked by kills from Timbre Cruz and Faith Blalock as the team battled back to lead 16-14. From there, the two teams went back and forth before back to back kills from Camila Silva and Emma Riddle helped the Bruins edge the Tornados 25-23 in set one.
The Tornados again built an early lead in set two but the Bruins again came battling back to even the set at 6-6 thanks to an ace from Katelyn Landkrohn and a kill from Faith Blalock. While the two teams would continued to trade points and the lead, a 6-1 run by Brevard allowed the Tornados to pull ahead 19-14.
The Bruins battled all the way back to tie the set at 22-22 but the Tornados wouldn't be denied as they scored three straight points to win the set 25-23 and even the match at 1-1.
The Tornados had grabbed momentum and it showed as they stormed out to a 12-5 lead in set three. The Bruins tried to slow the Tornados but Brevard continued to find open holes to hammer down kills as they continued to extend their lead. The Bruins just couldn't keep pace as Brevard won handily 25-11 in set three to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
With their backs against the wall, the Bruins came out looking to extend the match and keep their hopes alive. Both teams went back and forth in the early goings before the Bruins scored three straight off a kill from Camila Silva and an ace from Timbre Cruz as the team led 12-9.
Both teams took turns holding a lead before the other would battle back to tie and regain the lead as the score remained close. After kills from Kyra Rickard and Katherine Hoopes, the Bruins led 23-21. Hoopes then helped the Bruins force a fifth set as she hammered down a kill to give the team a 25-22 win and tie the match at 2-2.
The Bruin faithful had been reenergized as the fans were on their feet for the final set. The Bruins rode the energy of the crowd as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Brevard began to slowly chip away at the lead, but the Bruins continued to find answers at the net to stop runs from the Tornados.
Timbre Cruz made a kill for the Bruins to increase the lead to 12-7 forcing Brevard to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, Ashley Hoxit recorded back to back kills to give the Tornados some life but the Bruins responded as an ace from Timbre Cruz gave the team match point at 14-9. Camila Silva then gave the Bruins the win with a kill as the team completed the comeback with a 15-11 win in set five to win the match 3-2.
"You look at the stat sheet and this is a match we should not have won," Coach Denny said. "But that is how volleyball works. It is a team sport and when things are working in one area you need to work harder in other areas. I thought we did a good job of adapting tonight to get this win."
Katherine Hoopes led the Bruins with a double-double 16 kills and 16 digs in the win. Kiersten Hoopes had 45 assists on the night while Timbre Cruz and Katherine Hoopes each had 3 aces. Five players recorded double-digit digs for the Bruins with Katelyn Landkrohn leading the way for the team with 27 in the match.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road this weekend as the team competes in the Tornado Classic at Brevard College Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the Bruins will play a pair of matches against Salem College and Huntingdon College.
