The Bruins women's volleyball team are NCCAA DII South Region Champions once again! The Bruins and Pensacola Christian College Eagles played a three-set match where the Bruins soared to victory, sweeping the Eagles 25-19, 25-11, and 25-8. With a region win, the Bruins are national tournament bound.
Today's win gives the Bruins back-to-back region titles and is their seventh region title in program history. This is also the third year in a row that the Bruins and Eagles met in the Region Championship match.
"We had so many different people stepping up. Some great setting, passing, and defense was just what we wanted to do in this championship match. It was a great team effort," commented Head Coach Vickie Denny.
Leading the team today on the stat sheet, Katherine Hoopes recorded a double-double tallying 12 kills and 12 digs. Eden Swihart would be a major help today as she also recorded double-digit digs with 14 on the day.
Starting the first set, the Bruins were hyped to get going. They started the first set with an 8-1 lead over the Eagles. In an attempt to make a comeback, the Eagles came within two points making it 10-12, but they were unsuccessful as the Bruins never relinquished their lead winning the set 25-19 from a kill by Kiersten Hoopes.
The second set started out a lot closer with the Bruins holding a slight edge up 14-10. A kill from Victoria Glaze would get them the ball back and Eden Swihart would go on a six-point service run to put the Bruins up 21-10. After an attack error, the Bruins would immediately get the ball back and finish the second set 25-11.
With all the momentum the Bruins had up 2-0 in the match, there was no stopping them from completing the sweep. After some back-and-forth points were scored by both teams, the Bruins were up 10-7 in the final set. The crowd was really into it and it fueled the players to finish out. They went on a tear that couldn't be stopped. First Victoria Glaze went on a service run with six points and then Kiersten Hoopes finished the match with a service run of her own helping get the last seven points to win 25-8.
Libero, Katelyn Landkrohn also commented saying, "I'm super thankful for the way that our whole team came together and just played as a team especially for us seniors."
The Bruins will be headed to the National Tournament later this month in Joplin, Missouri. Ozark Christian College will play host for the NCCAA DII Women's Volleyball National Championship from November 15-18. The Bruins have won the last five national titles from seven appearances. Looking to claim their sixth straight, only Clearwater Christian College has had a more dominant run in the National Tournament with eight straight titles.
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