The Bob Jones University Bruins volleyball team split day one of the BJU Invitational on their home court of the Davis Field House. After sweeping Clinton College 3-0, the Bruins battled for five sets late into the night against Brevard College.
Day one of the weekend tournament kicked off with the Bruins hosting Clinton College at 3 p.m. In set one of the contest, the Bruins fell behind quickly, but soon battled back. As the game continued, the Bruins surged to a 20-12 advantage before taking the first set 25-15.
In set two, BJU looked to make it another quick one, pulling ahead 13-8, but the Golden Bears battled the Bruins and closed gap to two points at 22-20 before tying the game at 24 all. The Bruins added the two extra points needed to seal the deal and secure the set win 26-24.
As the third set came around, the Golden Bears lead 8-4 before Bob Jones went on a six point run to lead 10-8. The Bruins played well the rest of the set to close out it out 25-14 and take the 3-0 sweep.
"It was a good first win to start the tournament with a solid performance against a much improved Clinton team," said Head Coach Vickie Denny.
The Bruins had plenty of time to rest from their first game as their game scheduled for 7 p.m. against Brevard College got delayed due to another game on the court. An hour and a half later, the Bruins and Tornados took to the court for one of the final games of the day. Brevard and Bob Jones met earlier in the week where the Bruins fell in a five-set contest. The Bruins looked to even the season series.
The Bruins got off to a good start and played well against Brevard in the first set. A massive kill by Faith Blalock sealed the set one victory for the Bruins 25-19. In set two, both teams exchanged points until the Bruins pulled ahead to a 19-13 advantage. Brevard recorded seven straight to regain the lead at 22-20. The Bruins couldn't hold them back as the Tornados evened the match 1-1 with the 25-21 set win.
After Brevard took the 2-1 lead after winning the third set, the Bruins needed a fourth set win to stay in the game. They performed well in the first part of the set, but Brevard dug their way back to lead 21-20. The lead flip flopped as both teams battled for their points. The two programs went into overtime playing to 28 points for the Bruins to win set four.
Similarly to Tuesday's game at Brevard, Friday's late night contest needed a fifth set to determine the winner.
Fatigue began to set in as the Bruins fell behind early 9-1 in the final set. It quickly became 14-6 in favor of the Tornados. A kill by Emily Lewis kept the Bruins alive as she went to the service line. In a wild turn of events, the Bruins scored eight straight to tie the game 14-14. Unfortunately, back-to-back attack errors saw the Bruins fall 16-14 in the final set.
"Our Brevard match was another five set match," said Denny. "Half of our matches this season have gone to five sets. Although we dropped set five 14-16, I appreciated how the team responded after being down 2-10, to tie it all up at 14-14. It was a heart breaking loss, but hopefully playing so many of these five set matches early in the season, will make us more resilient as we continue our season. Tomorrow is a new day and we will continue on working on getting better as a team."
The Bruins are back in action tomorrow in the Davis Field House as they face Boyce College at noon and then Regent University at 2 p.m.
