Bruins split on day two of AQ/CU Invite

St. Xavier Box Score
Cornerstone Box Score

Tournament Website

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The 12th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team won their third-straight match to begin the day defeating (RV) Saint Xavier University 3-1 before falling 3-1 to Cornerstone University to close out play at the Aquinas/Cornerstone Volleyball Invitational.

The Bruins will open conference play this Wednesday, Sept. 14, when they travel to Madison, S.D., to take on Dakota State University beginning at 6 p.m.

Bellevue 3, St. Xavier 1

Four Bruins had double-figure kill totals as the Bruins pulled out the 3-1 (25-16, 25-17, 20-25, 25-22) victory over St. Xavier in the opener. 

Sidney Sledge fired a match-high 16 kills on .370 hitting while adding three digs and three blocks. 

Sierra Athen recorded her third-straight double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs, along with three assists and two blocks. 

Jacki Apel registered 13 kills on 25 errorless swings and added a match-high five blocks. 

Haley Fleischman hit .346 with 12 kills along with three blocks. 

The Bruins hit .308 in the match, with Olivia Galas picking up 46 assists, 18 digs, six kills, and a pair of service aces. 

The BU defense held the Cougars to a .195 hitting efficiency, owning a 61-50 advantage in digs. 

Molly Hackett paced SXU with 15 kills. Kaleigh Ritter led the Cougars with 34 assists and 14 digs.  

Cornerstone 3, Bellevue 1

Three more Bruin double-doubles were recorded in the match despite a 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 32-34, 22-25) loss to Cornerstone in the AQ/CU Invite finale.

Olivia Galas' triple-double led the way as she finished with 52 assists, 12 digs, and 10 kills in the match.

Bellevue attacked at a .218 clip, led by Sierra Athen's 14 kills on .278 hitting. Rosa Reed-Bouley and Allie Kerns joined Athen and Galas with double-figure kills, tallying 12 and 11, respectively.

Defensively, the Bruins out-dug Cornerstone 74-64. Athen (14 kills, 19 digs) and Kerns (11 kills, 16 digs) each recorded double-doubles in the loss, and Taylan Keefer totaled 17 digs.

Cornerstone took advantage of 10 BU service errors to overcome just a .208-hitting performance in the match. Kaylee Dykema led the Golden Eagles with 15 kills and was joined in double-figures by teammates Olivia Keelean (14) and Kathryn Detwiler (13). Aubrey Lenz finished with 48 assists, while Patsy Morris led the defensive effort with 22 digs.