The Bob Jones University Bruins volleyball team battled but came up short in a 3-1 loss to Huntingdon College on Thursday night in Montgomery, Alabama. With today's loss, the Bruins now hold a 3-8 season record. 

Today's contest marked the third meeting between the Bruins and the Hawks with the first two coming back in 2022 where Huntingdon took both games.

The Hawks wasted no time setting the tone at the start of today's contest, racing out to a big 13-1 lead in the opening set. The Bruins reset and took advantage of several mistakes by the Hawks to try and cut down the deficit. In the end, Huntingdon finished the opening set with a 25-15 win.

In the second set, the Bruins quickly answered back. BJU kept the pressure on and pushed the Hawks deep into extra points before narrowly dropping the set 28-26.

Refusing to let the night end early, the Bruins came alive in the third. With Stefanie Burke and Hannah Goodwin leading the charge, the offense clicked and the defense dug in, carrying Bob Jones to a 25-20 win.

The fourth set saw more tight rallies as both teams traded points, but Huntingdon found just enough of a spark late to hold off the Bruins' comeback hopes, closing out the match 25-21.

Hannah Goodwin and Stefanie Burke led the team in double figures with 12 and 10 kills each. Anne Lloyd helped fuel the defense with 11 digs and a match-high six service aces. 

"There were some positive takeaways from today," said Coach Christa Schlichting following the game. "I liked how we didn't give up in the first set after a very slow start. We maintained momentum and kept playing hard. Reducing errors and maintaining consistency is going to be key as we continue to press forward together."

Up next, the Bruins travel down to Florida for a Friday afternoon contest against Baptist University of Florida.