Bruins claim four-set NSAA win over Vikings

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Backed by a big hitting effort from junior middle blocker Shayla Scanlan the #19 Bellevue University volleyball team continued their winning ways on Friday evening, defeating Valley City State University by a score of 3-1 (25-20, 25-13, 18-25, 25-17) in a North Star Athletic Association match at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

The win was BU's eighth-straight as they improve their overall record to 14-3 and remain unbeaten in league play at 3-0. Valley City falls to 6-7 overall and 0-2 in NSAA play.

With the victory the Bruins remain perfect when out-blocking their opposition (5-0) and are now 7-1 in home matches on the year.

Offensively, Bellevue was paced by Scanlan's 13-kill (.571 hitting) effort and was supported by a 10-kill night from Rachel Wald. Mikaylah Gillespie and Hope Lambrecht each turned in six-kill performances.

Maddie Squiers directed the Bruins to .168 hitting as a team with 36 assists to go along with nine digs.

Defensively, the Bruins were led by Cheyenne Mahnke's 10 digs and Lambrecht's match-high six blocks.

Valley City State was led by McKinley Putnam and Autumn Johnson who each had six kills. Rowan Garcia totaled 15 assists for the Vikings who hit .107 as a team. Hailie Wilds led the defensive effort with 10 digs while Putnam was the top blocker for the Vikings with a total of five on the evening.

1^st Set: Bellevue 25, Valley City State 20

Hitting: BU .138 | VCSU .000

Bellevue jumped out to a fast start in the opening set using a 5-0 run to grab an early 7-3 lead prompting Valley City to use their first timeout. The timeout didn't do much to quell the Bruins' momentum as BU came out of the break with a 5-2 spurt to seize a 7-point lead. Valley City responded by closing the deficit to just two points, 20-18, before Bellevue ultimately went on to the 25-20 victory.

2^nd Set: Bellevue 25, Valley City State 13

Hitting: BU .280 | VCSU -.043

The second set featured more back-and-forth action at the onset as neither team gained more than three points of separation until the Bruins used a 6-2 run to grab a 15-10 lead. A Viking timeout at that point wasn't enough to stop the hot-hitting Bruins who came out of the timeout by scoring six of the next seven points before coasting to a 25-13 win and a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

3^rd Set: Bellevue 18, Valley City State 25

Hitting: BU -.154 | VCSU .190

After trading points in the early going during the third set it looked like BU would pick up where they left off after the first two sets but a 6-0 run by Valley City gave the Vikings a 12-11 edge and caused the Bruins to use their first timeout. The break paid dividends for Bellevue as the hosts, after allowing another point, rattled off a 3-0 mini-run to reclaim the lead at 14-13. The advantage was short-lived as three-straight VCSU points gave the Vikings a lead they would not relinquish en route to a 25-18 third set win. Valley City closed the set on a 19-7 run to seal the win.

4^th Set: Bellevue 25, Valley City State 17

Hitting: BU .364 | VCSU .296

The Bruins opened the fourth set strong as they jumped out to a 9-3 lead on perfect 4-for-4 hitting before VCSU called a timeout. The timeout didn't do much to change VCSU's fortunes as Bellevue out-scored the Vikings 6-4 out of the break as their lead swelled to 15-7 before Valley City spent their final timeout of the set. From there Bellevue held on for the 25-17 set victory to clinch the match.

Up Next:

Bellevue hosts Mayville State University and Grace University for a three-team event tomorrow. The Bruins and Comets begin play with a noon NSAA match before Mayville State squares off against Grace at 2 p.m. Bellevue and Grace wrap up Saturday's action with a 4 p.m. match.

Valley City State next travels to Madison, S.D. for a 1:30 p.m. North Star game tomorrow afternoon against Dakota State University.