BU advances to NSAA Championship with four-set win over Trojans

Box Score
NSAA Tournament Site

OMAHA, Neb. -- The top-seeded Bellevue University volleyball team advanced to the championship match of the NSAA Volleyball Tournament with a 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-11) victory over No. 4-seeded Dakota State University Tuesday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. 

The Bruins improved to 16-4 on the season and will host No. 3-seeded Viterbo University in the championship match at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 10 in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. Viterbo upset the No. 2 seed, Mayville State University, in five sets Tuesday night in Mayville. 

Bellevue used a balanced attack with five players registering double-digit kill totals as BU hit .318 on the night while holding the Trojans to a .128 attacking clip. 

Freshman Eve Fountain led the Bruins with her team-leading 10th double-double of the year, finishing with 17 kills and 14 digs. Sienna Black totaled 11 kills on .429 hitting while adding three blocks. 

Jacki Apel collected 11 kills, three digs, and three blocks. Coree Lipovsky had 10 kills on 17 errorless swings and added five digs and three blocks. 

Sierra Athen was the fifth Bruin in double figures, finishing with 10 kills and 13 digs for her fourth-straight double-double and her ninth on the season. 

Olivia Galas dished out 52 assists and added 13 digs and four blocks in the victory. It was her ninth double-double of the season. 

VonnaGail Schlechter was the lone Trojan in double figures, finishing with 10 kills along with 12 digs. Maddie Polzin had eight kills and 14 digs. 

Madalyn Groft finished with 29 assists, 14 digs, six kills, and a pair of blocks. 

Set 1: Bellevue 25, Dakota State 20

Bellevue trailed early 4-1 but used a 5-0 run highlighted by back-to-back kills from both Lipovsky and Fountain to gain a 9-6 advantage. The Bruins used another 5-0 spurt to extend the margin to 22-13 before settling for the 25-20 victory. 

Fountain had five kills in the opening set and middles Lipovsky and Black combined for seven kills on eight attacks as BU outhit the Trojans, .317 to .128. 

Set 2: Dakota State 25, Bellevue 23

The Trojans led by as many as seven points at 18-11 before BU battled back with a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to two at 20-18 capped by a kill from Fountain. The two teams traded points and BU cut the lead to one at 24-23 with kills by Athen and Black, before the Trojans ended the set on a kill from Polzin to even the match with the 25-23 victory. 

Fountain (5) and Apel (4) combined for nine kills to lead BU in the second while Schlechter paced DSU with four kills on seven swings. 

Set 3: Bellevue 25, Dakota State 19

Six players had at least two kills as BU took a 2-1 lead in the match with the 25-19 victory in the third frame. 

Bellevue raced out to a 10-4 lead and led 16-11 before the Trojans used a 6-2 run to pull to with a point at 18-17 following a kill by Hannah Viet. 

After a kill by Groft sliced the deficit to one at 19-18, the Bruins closed the set on a 6-1 run highlighted by kills from Galas, Athen, and Lipovsky and a service ace from Athen. 

Set 4: Bellevue 25, Dakota State 11

The Bruins scored the first five points of the fourth set and never trailed as BU cruised to the 25-11 victory, closing out the match in four sets. 

BU outhit the Trojans in the fourth, .306 to -.103. 

Athen had four kills on nine errorless swings while adding five digs to pace BU in the fourth frame.