Fountain, Bruins outlast #8 Northwestern in home-opener

Box Score

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Eve Fountain turned in a 20-kill, 14-dig performance to lead the 12^th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team to a thrilling 3-2 victory over 8^th-ranked Northwestern College in the Bruins' home-opener on Tuesday evening at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

Bellevue remains unbeaten, improving to 6-0, with their third victory over a Top 10 team already on the young season. Northwestern's record dips to 11-2.

#12 Bellevue 3, #8 Northwestern 2 (25-19, 17-25, 22-25, 25-17, 16-14)

The Bruins came out strong in the opener to take a 25-19 win, out-hitting NWC .175-.043 in the stanza.

Northwestern responded by taking control of the match over the next two sets with 25-17 and 25-22 wins. The Red Raiders out-hit Bellevue .293-.119 over the course of the second and third but BU started to regain its footing late in the third set.

On the strength of their best set of the night, Bellevue took forced a fifth set with a 25-17 win in the fourth, delivering 17 kills against just four attack errors as they hit .283 as a team. Leading 20-17, Bellevue scored the final five points with Eve Fountain serving, using a trio of kills from Sienna Black, an NWC attack error, and a kill from Sierra Athen to extend the match.

The fifth set was back-and-forth, with neither team gaining more than a two-point lead. With Northwestern ahead 12-11, Bellevue scored back-to-back points on a kill from Fountain and a Red Raider attack error to snag the lead. The teams traded the next four points before Athen and Fleischman blocked Katie Peters' attack to give the Bruins the 16-14 victory and the match.

Three Bruins notched double-doubles in the win led by Fountain's season-high 20-kill evening. She also recorded 14 digs for her team-leading fourth double-double.

Athen tallied 14 kills and 16 digs while Olivia Galas finished with 49 assists and 15 digs in directing the BU attack to a .181 hitting percentage. It was the second-straight match in which both Athen and Galas collected double-doubles.

Black hit .385 and finished with seven kills, most coming in crucial moments and Taylan Keefer dug 15 balls to aid in the defensive effort.

Alysen Dexter notched a double-double as she led four Red Raiders in double figures with 13 kills to go along with 10 digs. Olivia Schaub (11), Bekah Horstman (10), and Peters (10) all finished with double-figure kills for Northwestern.

Up Next:

The Bruins will travel to Arizona this Friday-Saturday, Sept. 10-11 for three matches in the Grand Canyon State. BU will battle No. 10 Providence at 1 p.m. (MT) on Friday followed by a 3:30 p.m. contest at Ottawa (Ariz.). Both of those matches will take place on the Ottawa campus in Surprise, Ariz. The Bruins will travel to Prescott, Ariz. on Saturday for a 12:30 p.m. (MT) match at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Notes:

• Bellevue's 6-0 record represents their best start to a season since the 2006 team won their first 10 matches.
• The three Top 10 victories are the most-ever by a Bruin team in a single season.