Bruins split matches at Crusader Classic

SCAD Box Score
Madonna Box Score

LIVONIA, Mich. -- The 21st-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team split a pair of matches Friday in the Madonna University Crusader Classic, sweeping Savannah College of Art and Design 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-9) in the opener before dropping a five set (23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 18-16) decision to the host school Madonna University in the final match of the day.

The Bruins moved to 22-6 on the season after the split.

Bellevue 3, SCAD 0
Kali Schnacker, Caitlyn Rueth, and Maureen Wardian recorded nine kills apiece to lead the Bruins in the 25-18, 25-18, 25-9 win over SCAD in the opening match of the tournament. 

Schnacker hit .444 with just one error in 18 swings. Meghan Evans led the BU defense with 12 digs. Ashley Wurdeman chipped in with 10 digs as the Bruins held the Bees to .000 hitting in the match. 

Jordan Broady directed the BU offense to a .310 hitting percentage, dishing out 29 assists, while adding five digs, three kills, and a pair of blocks. 

An 8-1 run midway throught the first set fueled the Bruins' 25-18 win in the opener. Schnacker paced BU with three kills and a block, while Wardian, Rueth, and Sydney DeBoer each added a pair of kills as BU hit .219, while holding SCAD to .069 hitting. 

Three kills apiece from Schnacker and Rueth keyed a 14-2 BU run in the second as the Bruins overcame an early 9-6 deficit to collect the 25-18 win. Schnacker and Rueth both registered four kills on seven swings with no errors in the second frame. 

Bellevue raced out to an 8-2 lead in the third set and closed the game on a 15-3 run to claim the 25-9 win and finish the sweep. Wardian pounded five kills and hit .500 in the final frame. 

Madonna 3, Bellevue 2
The Bruins let a 2-0 lead in sets slip away as well as three match points in the final frame as Madonna pulled out a 23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 18-16 marathon win over Bellevue in the nightcap. 

Wardian led the Bruins with 19 kills on .370 hitting along with four blocks. Schnacker added 18 kills and four blocks. Benson was the third Bruin in double figures with 12 kills. 

Evans led BU defensively with 27 digs while Mollie Gavin added 15. 

Broady finished with 52 assists, nine digs, five kills, and three blocks. 

Schnacker notched five kills on .500 hitting in the opening set to lead the Bruin attack. With the score knotted at 22-all, the Bruins used two kills from Wardian and a Crusader attack error to escape with the 25-23 win. Wardian finished the set with four kills. 

Trailing 18-16 in the second, two-consecutive service aces from Wurdeman sparked a 4-0 Bruin run that put BU up 20-18. After two kills from Benson, and one each from Rueth and Wardian, the Bruins held three set points at 24-21, before finally clinching the game on a solo block from Broady.  

With the score tied at 8-all in the third set, the Bruins were plagued by six attack errors as the Crusaders stormed ahead for the 25-20 win. 

Madonna raced out to an 8-0 lead in the fourth, thanks to six Bruin attack errors and a receive error. Bellevue managed to get to within three points at 23-20 following a 5-1 run, but the Crusaders forced a deciding set after a kill by Megan Fricke and a block by Nastija Baranovska and Taylor Dziewit on Benson, gave MU the game at 25-20. 

Three early kills by Wardian gave BU a 6-2 advantage in the final set. Kills by Wurdeman and Benson allowed the Bruins to take an 8-4 lead at the side change. Two-consecutive kills from Schnacker gave BU an 11-5 lead before Madonna scored five-straight points to close to within one point at 11-10, forcing a BU timeout. Bellevue responded out of the timeout with a kill by Schnacker, but two-consecutive attack errors knotted the score at 12-all. The Bruins had three match points at 14-13, 15-14, and 16-15, but the Crusaders responded each time before finally ending the match on a kill by Baranovska.  

 The Bruins conclude the tournament on Saturday with a 10:30 a.m. match against Davenport and a 12:30 p.m. contest versus Malone.