The Bruins volleyball team was back in action on Saturday afternoon as the team competed in a pair of matches at the Tornado Classic in Brevard, North Carolina. The Bruins finished the weekend strong as the team swept Brevard College (3-0) before defeating Methodist University (3-1) to improve to 9-5 on the season.
"Overall this was a good weekend of volleyball for us and we are improving with each match," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said.
The Bruins came into the day having split their two matches on Friday with a win over Salem College before falling to Huntingdon College. The loss to Huntingdon snapped a six-match winning streak for the Bruins.
For the first match on Saturday, the Bruins would be paired with host Brevard College. The two teams played on Thursday night with the Bruins rallying from a 2-1 deficit to win a five-set thriller 3-2 in the Davis Field House.
In the opening set, the Bruins jumped out to an early 11-5 lead thanks to pairs of kills from Camila Silva and Katherine Hoopes. The Bruins continued to maintain their lead thanks to great play and closed out the set on a 6-1 run to win the opening set 25-15.
The Bruins carried that momentum into the second set as the team once again used an early run to pull ahead 10-4. From there, the Tornados began to chip away at the lead but an ace from Eden Swihart and a kill from Timbre Cruz pushed the lead to 22-12. The Bruins then were able to take a commanding 2-0 in the match after winning set two 25-16.
In set three, the hometown Tornados came out looking to avoid the sweep as the team jumped out to an early 6-2 lead. The Bruins called timeout which proved to be a smart decision by Coach Denny as the team scored three straight points and battled back to take a 10-9 lead.
Later on in the set, the Bruins went on a 6-0 run to take a 16-10 lead. Eden Swihart then proved to be the hero for the Bruins in the final set as she served five straight points including two aces in the run as the Bruins went on to win the match 3-0 with a 25-15 win in set three.
"This was our first match this season where our offense and defense came together and we had great rhythm in transition," Coach Denny said.
Camila Silva led the way in kills for the Bruins with 11 in the match while Faith Blalock had 10 kills. Kiersten Hoopes finished with 34 assists while Katherine Hoopes led the way defensively with 12 digs in the match.
For the second match of the day, the Bruins would be paired with Methodist University as the team looked to wrap up the weekend with a win. In the first set, the Monarchs jumped out to an early lead but the Bruins battled back thanks to kills from Katherine Hoopes as the team led 8-6.
After the teams traded points, the Bruins found their rhythm as the team went on a 9-0 run to take a commanding 18-8 lead. In fact, Methodist would score just one more point the rest of the set as the Bruins won handily 25-9 in set one.
The Monarchs regrouped in set two as the score remained close in the early stages. Emma Riddle and Katherine Hoopes provided back to back kills for the Bruins but the Monarchs answered back to lead 10-9. Despite the score remaining close throughout the remainder of the set, the Monarchs would even the match at 1-1 as they edged the Bruins 25-22 in set two.
Both teams came out in set three looking to take the lead in the match. The Bruins were able to get a kill and an ace from Katelyn Landkrohn as the team led 10-6. From there, the Bruins continued to stretch their lead as another ace from Katherine Hoopes pushed the lead to 15-9.
The Monarchs refused to back down as they came roaring back with kills from Jeanana Fowler and Mahala Carter as Methodist trailed 18-16. The Bruins came right back as the team got clutch kills from Emma Riddle and Faith Blalock as the team went on to win the set 25-19 to lead the match 2-1.
In the fourth set, the Bruins came out looking to finish the match and get the win and it showed as the team scored the first three points courtesy of kills from Camila Silva, Timbre Cruz, and Kyra Rickard.
The Monarchs were able to chip away at the lead but the Bruins came back strong as the team scored four-straight and forced Methodist to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bruins picked up where they left off as they went on to score six points in a row and lead 19-7.
It looked as though the Bruins would run away with the match but the Monarchs mounted one last rally to try to extend the match. Faith Blalock then hammered down the final kill as the Bruins won set four 25-17 and the match 3-1.
Katherine Hoopes and Timbre Cruz each had double-doubles in the match as Hoopes finished with 16 kills and 12 digs while Cruz had 10 kills to go along with 18 digs. Kiersten Hoopes had another great performance with 52 assists in the win while the Bruins combined for 71 digs as a team.
Next up, the Bruins will be on the road again on Tuesday night as the team travels to Demorest, Georgia, for a matchup with Piedmont University.
