BU goes 4-0 at Labor Day Classic after wins over SAGU, Carroll

SAGU Box Score
Carroll Box Score

Tournament Site

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The 22nd-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team earned a pair of victories on Saturday to go a perfect 4-0 in the 25-team GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic being held at the Lied Activity Center. The Bruins swept Southwestern Assemblies of God University 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-22) in the opener, before outlasting Carroll College 3-2 (27-25, 25-21, 12-25, 18-25, 15-12) in the finale. 

Bellevue moved to 9-2 overall on the season with the two wins. BU and Northwestern College were the only two teams to go undefeated in the tournament.  

The Bruins will travel to Point Lookout, Mo. next Thursday, Sept. 5 for a 6 p.m. match at College of the Ozarks. 

Bellevue 3, SAGU 0

Sierra Athen notched her third-straight double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs to lead BU to the sweep over the Lions. Athen also produced a match-high four service aces in the victory. 

Andrea Carson added 10 kills, two digs, and a pair of blocks. 

Coree Lipovsky hit .500 with seven kills and one error in 12 attempts while adding two blocks. 

Olivia Galas directed the BU offense to a .281 hitting percentage while dishing out 37 assists to go along with three digs, two blocks, and four kills. 

SAGU was led by Alexis Mealer's 10 kills. Ava Meyers added nine kills and four digs for the Lions.  

Bellevue 3, Carroll 2

After racing out to a 2-0 lead in sets, the Bruins had to regroup after losing sets three and four, 25-12 and 25-18. BU overcame a 5-2 deficit in the fifth, going ona 9-2 run to take a commanding, 11-7 lead in the deciding set. After the Saints scored three straight to pull to within one, BU was sparked by a kill from Lipovsky and a service ace from Galas to take a 14-10 lead. Carroll fought off two match points before a kill by Rosa Reed-Bouley gave the Bruins the dramatic win. 

Athen (19) and Carson (13) combined for 32 kills to pace the BU offense. Athen also led the defense with 16 digs to record her fourth-consecutive double-double.

Madi Evans had 15 digs along with two assists. Three Bruins produced 11 digs in Sidney Craig, Galas, and Paige Holdsworth. 

Reed-Bouley finished with nine kills and five digs and freshman Nicole Meyer collected six kills on 14 errorless swings. 

Galas produced a double-double with 50 assists and 11 digs while addinga pair of service aces and a block. 

The Saints were led by four players with 10 kills in Lexi Mikkelsen, Hannah Dean, Katherine McEuen, and Sophia Spoja.