Bruins sweep weekly conference honors

MADISON, S.D. -- The Bruins swept the weekly North Star Athletic Association volleyball honors with sophomore middle blocker Jacki Apel, sophomore libero Taylan Keefer and senior setter Olivia Galas taking home Player of the Week honors after Bellevue University's two conference road wins at Dickinson State University and Valley City State University. 

Apel was named the NSAA Attacker of the Week for the first time in her career. She averaged 3.38 kills per set while hitting at a .396 attacking efficiency. In the five-set win over VCSU, Apel pounded 19 kills on .421 hitting while also adding 11 blocks for her first career double-double. On the week, Apel finished with an impressive 2.13 blocks per set. 

In the latest NSAA statistics, Apel leads the conference with a .310 hitting percentage and 1.43 blocks per set.  

Keefer earned NSAA Defender of the Week honors after averaging 6.88 digs per set in the two wins. She finished with a career-high 41 digs in BU's five-set win at VCSU and also surpassed the 1,000-dig plateau for her career in that match. In addition to her 55 digs, Keefer also added 11 assists on the week.  

Galas earned her sixth NSAA Setter of the Week honor this season after averaging 11.75 assists, 3.75 digs, 1.63 kills, and 1.00 blocks per set in the two matches. Galas recorded her second triple-double of the season in the win over VCSU, finishing with 55 assists, a season-high 23 digs, and 10 kills, to go along with six blocks.

In the win over the Vikings, Galas registered her 6,000th career assist and moved into the No. 2 spot on the school's all-time charts for assists. She now has 6,051 career assists.