The Bruins volleyball team battled hard on Thursday night but the team couldn't come away with the victory as they fell to Huntingdon College 3-1 in Montgomery, Alabama. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 1-4 on the season.
"This was another tough loss for us on the road," Bruins Head Coach Vickie Denny said. "Unfortunately, we did not start the match strong and we continue to let the opponents have long scoring runs uncontested."
The Bruins came into the match on the heels of opening the regular season last weekend on the road in Danville, Virginia. The Bruins went 1-3 in competition last weekend and looked to get back into the winning column as they played Huntingdon College in the first of five matches over the next three days.
The Hawks came into Thursday's match at 3-1 on the season having won three straight games. This would be the first-ever meeting between the Bruins and Hawks as both teams took the floor.
Huntingdon jumped out to an early lead in set one as the Bruins struggled to keep pace in scoring. As a result, the Bruins found themselves playing from behind and couldn't find a way to catch the Hawks as the team fell in set one 25-19.
In set two, the Bruins regrouped and came out strong as the team took an early lead. The Bruins relied on kills from Camila Silva and Bethany Estell as the team continued to distance themselves from the Hawks. The Bruins were able to even the set as the team soared to a 25-11 win in set two to tie the match at 1-1.
The Bruins and Hawks went back and forth in set three with the score remaining close throughout. The Hawks were able to maintain a slim lead, but the Bruins continued to stay within striking distance as the set reached its end. Unfortunately, the Bruins couldn't seem to get the points they needed as the Hawks took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-23 win in set three.
In the fourth set, the Bruins came out looking to stay alive in the match. The team got great play from Eden Swihart and Kiersten Hoopes but again the Hawks continued to keep pace as the score remained neck and neck.
The Bruins were able to grab the upper hand late in the set as a key kill gave the team a 24-22 lead. The hometown Hawks weren't about to let the match go five as they roared back to tie the set at 24-24. The Hawks then went on to win the set 27-25 ending the match in a 3-1 loss for the Bruins.
"We are a young team this year and what will determine our success will be how quickly we can learn from these losses and grow together as a team," Coach Denny said. "We tried different combinations tonight trying to find the right mix of players and rhythm. There were times I really liked the flow of the game and other times when we did not execute well and allowed them to get easy points from us."
Faith Blalock and Bethany Estell each had 11 kills for the Bruins in the match while freshmen Kiersten Hoopes ended the night with 37 assists. Katelyn Landkron led the Bruins defensively with 21 digs while Bethany Estell finished with 16 posting her second double-double this season (kills/digs).
Next up, the Bruins will be back on the court again on Friday as the team plays two matches in the opening day of the NCCAA South Region Kickoff Tournament in Pensacola, Florida. The Bruins will face Trinity College (FL) at 3 p.m. followed by a matchup with Pensacola Christian College at 5 p.m.
