Bruins drop a pair on day two of Madonna Classic

LIVONIA, Mich. – The Bellevue University volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on day two of the BLT Sportswear Warrior Classic, hosted by Madonna University. The Bruins dropped the opener to Lawrence Tech. 3-2 and fell to host No. 18 Madonna 3-_ in the nightcap. BU is now 16-16 on the season.

Match One: Lawrence Tech. 3, Bellevue 2 (15-25, 16-25, 28-26, 25-22, 15-12)

Lawrence Tech. dominated the fifth, and decisive, set by attacking at .556 (12 kills, 2 errors) as the Blue Devils complete a come-from-behind victory over Bellevue on Saturday morning. Bellevue received 14 kills and a .355 hitting percentage from junior Symone Faulkner (Denver, Col.) but it wasn't enough as the Bruins squandered a two sets to none lead.

The Bruins got out to an early 2-0 lead with victories of 25-15 and 25-16 in the first two sets while out-hitting the Blue Devils .309-.119 during that time. Lawrence Tech. started to turn the tide in the third set with a 28-26 victory after facing match point at both 24-22 and 24-23.

Bellevue saw a 14-13 lead fall in the fourth set when Lawrence Tech. used a 8-2 run to take a 21-16 lead. BU would not get closer than two the rest of the set and the match headed to a decisive fifth set.

In the defining set, Bellevue took a 7-5 lead in the early going but a 3-0 run by Lawrence Tech. before the teams switched sides gave the Blue Devils an 8-7 edge and a lead that they would not relinquish on their way to a 15-12 victory.

Junior Beth Walker recorded her team-best 15^th double-double of the season, finishing with 45 assists and 10 digs and hit at .467 with eight kills. Freshman Taylor Holz (Omaha, Neb.) tallied a career-high tying 21 digs while redshirt freshman Addison Smith (Papillion, Neb.) added 10 digs.

Freshman Kamille Smith (Spencer, Okla.) finished the match with 13 kills and a .296 hitting percentage while classmate Rachel Wald (Omaha, Neb.) contributed 11 kills and a .269 hitting percentage.

Match Two: #18 Madonna 3, Bellevue 1 (25-21, 25-19, 27-29, 26-24)

Sophomore LaJaida Even (Waverly, Iowa) and Symone Faulkner each recorded double-digits in kills but it wasn't enough as Bellevue's losing streak was extended to three with a 3-0 loss to No. 18 Madonna to wrap up the Classic on Saturday afternoon. Even finished with 11 and a .308 hitting percentage while Faulkner also tallied 11.

Madonna took the closely-contested first set by a final count of 25-21 to grab an early 1-0 advantage in the match. The Warriors used a 5-0 run to take a 10-5 lead and did not allow Bellevue to get within two points for the rest of the set.

The Bruins used a 7-2 run build a solid 9-3 lead to open the second set before the Warriors were able to respond with a 6-0 run to even things up. From there Madonna would score 11 of the next 16 points to go up 20-14 on their way to a 25-19 victory and a commanding two sets to none lead in the match.

Bellevue would break through with a thrilling 29-27 victory in the third set. Leading 23-18, BU nearly let the lead get away from them as Madonna rallied to kill off two consecutive set points and tie the set at 24-24. The Bruins fought off a match point at 27-26 and scored the final three points of the set to claim the victory and force a fourth set.

The fourth set was once again a tight back and forth affair. Bellevue led as late as 18-17 and, after falling behind, rallied to tie the set at 24-24 to stave off a match point situation. Madonna then scored the next two points to close out the set and match with a 26-24 victory.

After tying a career-high earlier in the day with 21 digs, Taylor Holz finished with 22 for a new career-high. Beth Walker led the Bruins with 38 assists and added seven digs. Addison Smith chipped in 10 digs for the Bruins.

Bellevue will return to action on Friday, Oct. 17 when they host the College of the Ozarks at 7:00 p.m. in a Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Contest at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

All-Tournament Team

Spencer Stokes - Madonna University

Mary Armstrong – Lawrence Technological University

Beth Walker – Bellevue University

Kayla Vogel - Madonna University

Shannon Dean – University of Windsor

Allyson Wilbourn – Georgetown College

Paige TenBrink – Rochester College

Taylor Wells – Grand View University

Most Outstanding Player – Vanja Joksic – University of Texas at Brownsville