The Bob Jones University women's volleyball team remains undefeated in region play after wins against Toccoa Falls College and Pensacola Christian College Saturday afternoon. With today's victories, the Bruins improve to 4-5 overall and 3-0 in region play.
"Going against two solid region teams today proved to be an exciting time," said Head Coach Vickie Denny.
After two games Friday evening, the Bruins were back on the court in Jacksonville, Florida. BJU opened the day against Toccoa Falls College where they got out to a quick 25-10 set victory.
Toccoa Falls College stepped it up in game two as the Screaming Eagles pulled to a 9-6 lead. The Bruins worked to knot it up at 11 all. It continued to be a back-and-forth effort by both teams as neither program wanted to let the other get ahead. Eventually, BJU worked to a 23-20 advantage. They had to work for their final points but came out victorious in set two 25-21.
Several mistakes put the Bruins down 5-2 early in the third set. While BJU worked, Toccoa Falls held on to the lead through the majority of the game. But point by point the Bruins battled to tie it at 20-20 before taking the lead. In an exciting finish, the Bruins went on a run to close out set three 25-21 to win the match 3-0.
"Although we won the Toccoa Falls match in three, they played solid defense and pushed us," commented Denny.
After a brief break, the Bruins regrouped and were back on the court against rival Pensacola Christian College. Hannah Goodwin opened the scoring with a big kill to put the Bruins on the board and they quickly pulled ahead to a 12-3 lead. With just two points needed by the Bruins to close the set, PCC rallied to close the gap, but the Bruins settled the set 25-18.
At the start of the second set, the Eagles pulled ahead to a slight lead before expanding it to nine points. The Bruins fought back to get within three at 20-17. The two continued to battle as BJU got within one at 23-22. But PCC tallied back-to-back points to take set two 25-22 to even the match.
Several mistakes put the Bruins behind early as the Eagles used their momentum to gain a slight set three lead. The Bruins soon saw themselves down 14-6. After a timeout, the Bruins reset and worked to cut down the deficit, but in the end, the Eagles won set two 25-17.
Once again, PCC got off to a slight lead in set four, but the Bruins stayed right with them to even the score at 7-7. The Bruins then pulled ahead and looked to hold on to a decently sized lead. PCC came back to tie it up at 22, 23, and then again at 24 points. But the Bruins stuck with it to take the set four win 26-24.
Bob Jones got out on top 6-2 early in the fifth set. The two programs produced some intense rallies as the Bruins looked to close out this game. In the end it was Bob Jones on top 15-12 to take the five-set thriller.
After the match Coach Denny said, "the Pensacola matchup was a real thriller with both teams battling for the W today. While we came out strong to win set one, we lost some focus and committed too many unforced errors in sets two and three. I changed our offensive lineup and it seemed to work well giving us the slight advantage in the last two sets for the win. Pensacola is a very talented team this year and have lots of hitting options. This was as important win for us today against a competitive regional opponent."
Up next, the Bruins travel to North Carolina for a Tuesday night contest against Brevard College.
