Back on the court for day two of the BJU Invitational Volleyball tournament, the Bruins split the day as the swept Clinton College in their first match of the day before falling in a 3-1 decision to Guilford College from the Davis Field House.
The women's volleyball team would get their day started against Clinton College. The first set looked as if it was going to go in favor of the Golden Bears, but the Bruins wouldn't let that slide as they found their groove. Set one finished with the Bruins on top, 25-21. After the Bruins found their rhythm, there was no stopping them. They would finish set two with a pair of kills from Timbre Cruz in a 25-14 set victory. Without any hesitation, the Bruins would pick up right where they left off. They crushed the Golden Bears 25-10 for a straight sweep.
Closing out their home tournament, the Bruins took on the Guilford College Quakers. It would be a tough matchup for the Bruins as they would find themselves quickly falling behind in the first set. The volleyball team would make it close, but they dropped the first set 17-25. Despite losing the first set, the Bruins had to make sure they were still in this game. The Bruins were able to find a little bit of a rhythm and string several points together growing their lead in set 2. With a kill by Kiersten Hoopes, the Bruins put set two to bed 25-16 and would even out the match.
The match was set at 1-1 and it showed during set 3. Both teams would be locked in a grudge match for almost the entire third set before the Quakers would scrounge together the last few points they needed. When the Bruins started set 4, things seemed as if they were going to go their way and they would have a nice lead. The Quakers had other ideas though and would put a stop to it. The Bruins lead would dwindle little by little until the set was tied at 23 a piece. The Bruins would fall to the Quakers 23-25 and lose the match 1-3.
After the loss Head Coach Vickie Denny said, "although disappointing we couldn't finish with Guilford and force a fifth set. We saw some good things today that will help us build upon."
The Bruins would finish the weekend 3-1 and move to 11-2 overall from a strong weekend performance.
Up next, the Bruins will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina for a Tuesday tilt against Johnson & Wales University.
