The Bob Jones University Bruins wrapped up the weekend with two more wins to improve to 11-9 on the season. The Bruins opened the day with a 3-1 win over Regent University before completing the tri-match with a 3-1 victory against the University of Toccoa Falls.
The Bruins opened Saturday's tri-match with a noon contest against Regent University. After a slow start the Bruins began to come alive and the two teams kept things tight with neither team gaining a big advantage. With the score tied 19-19, the Bruins were first to hit 20 points. They continued to press ahead and soon led 23-19. But the Royals didn't back down and closed the gap to pull within one. The Royals soon came back to overtake the Bruins and win the first set 26-24.
As the second set got underway, the Bruins pushed to an early 7-2 lead. But similarly to the opening set, the two teams kept it close for most of the match. After the Bruins pushed to a slight 22-19, Regen came back to knot it 22 all. A kill by Lyndsey Cassell sealed the set win for the Bruins as they evened the match 1-1.
Bruins took control in the third set and quickly built a double digit lead. Bob Jones limited the Royals to just eight points in the set win.
In the fourth set, the Bruins trailed early before they got their first lead off of an ace from Stefanie Burke. It remained close through the rest of the set. With the scored tied 24-24, back-to-back kills by Alyssa Goebert and Lyndsey Cassell secured the 26-24 set win and the 3-1 match victory for the Bruins.
The Bruins were back on the court a little after 4 p.m. to close on the tri-match against the University of Toccoa Falls. The Screaming Eagles opened the match with an early 5-1 lead before the Bruins came back to tie the game 5-5. It remained close throughout the set and after Toccoa Falls knotted the game 21-21, the Bruins came back with fourth straight points to take the opening set win 25-21.
In set two, the Bruins got on the board first and pulled to a 6-1 lead before the Screaming Eagles put together several scoring runs. Toccoa was able to pull out the 25-15 win to even the match at one.
As the third set got underway, the Screaming Eagles worked to build a six-point lead. But then the Bruins came back with an 18-1 scoring spree before closing out the set 25-15.
In the final frame, the Bruins got the first four points on the board followed by a 9-1 run to move ahead 13-4. While the Screaming Eagles kept it close, the Bruins held strong to win the fourth set 25-20 to close out the match 3-1.
With today's wins, the Bruins have moved to 11-9 overall and 5-2 in conference play. Up next, the Bruins go on the road for a Tuesday match against Warren Wilson College.
