From the Davis Field House at their 2024 home opener, the Bob Jones University volleyball team fell in a 3-1 match to Spartanburg Methodist College. With today's loss, the Bruins sit at 0-5 on the season.

"First of all, we really appreciate the great crowd. It was a great atmosphere to play in," said Head Coach Vickie Denny. 

She continued saying, "it was a tough match tonight. We started out really strong, but going into that third set we lost our momentum and maybe our focus a little bit. We're still a very young team, and we will often have several freshmen on the court at a time. I believe that as the team continues to grow, you're going to see a team that matures and by the end of the season we won't be making the same mistakes we had tonight."

The Bruins entered today on the hunt for their first win of the season after going 0-4 at the Cougar Classic in Virginia over the weekend. Tuesday's contest marked the seventh meeting between the Bruins and the Spartanburg Methodist College Pioneers with the Bruins holding the 4-2 series record. 

As today's game got underway, the Bruins went up 6-1 early in Tuesday's match to force a quick timeout after Jaime Robinson pieced together multiple aces. They used that early momentum to their advantage. Spartanburg Methodist used the depth on their roster and rotated in some strong hitters and battled back to the 18-17 lead. As the Pioneers looked to close out the first set, the Bruins fought back to take the set in an exciting 27-25 victory. 
 
After the Pioneers took an early lead, BJU came back to tie it halfway through the second set. In a similar set-up to set one, the Bruins battled from behind and looked to stop the set point from SMC with three straight points but the Pioneers came away with the set two win to even the score.
 
In set three, Spartanburg Methodist took a big 20-13 lead. The Bruins worked to battle back, but several miscommunication errors saw the Bruins drop the third set 25-16 as the Pioneers led the match 2-1.

The Pioneers wrapped up Tuesday's contest as they won their third set of the night in a close 25-21 set four.

Following the game Coach Denny said, "we can't keep making mistakes and making it easy for the opponents to win. We're going to have to earn our points and make the opposition earn theirs so we don't give up easy wins."

The Bruins now turn their attention to this weekend where they play a slate of NCCAA South Region games in Jacksonville, Florida.