Bruins split matches against ranked teams at Marvel Classic

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BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The 18th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team split a pair of matches on Friday against ranked teams at the Marvel Classic being held at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center on the BU campus. 

BU swept No. 21-ranlked Ottawa (Kan.) University 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-14) before falling to No. 10-ranked Montana Tech University 3-1 (26-28, 25-16, 22-25, 21-25). 

The split moves the Bruins to 17-7 on the season.  

With her 14th dig in the Bruins' loss to Montana Tech, senior libero Taylan Keefer became just the 14th player in school history to record 1,500 digs. She now has 1,502 career digs.  

Bellevue 3, Ottawa 0

Allie Kerns pounded 12 kills on .458 hitting to lead BU in the 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-14) victory over Ottawa. Kealy Kiviniemi hit .444 with 11 kills along with five digs. Eve Fountain produced eight kills, 14 digs, and a match-high three service aces in the BU win.

Defensively, the Bruins were paced by Taylan Keefer's 18 digs and Haley Fleischman's five blocks. 

Mila Aiwohi (26) and Jada Nunn (16) combined for 42 assists while directing the BU offense to a .300 hitting percentage. 

Radaisy Valdez led the Braves with eight kills and three blocks.  

Kerns and Kiviniemi combined for seven early kills as BU built an 11-3 first-set lead. The Bruins extended the advantage to 15-4 following a service ace by Fountain, before cruising to the 25-12 victory. 

The Bruins hit a sizzling .469 in the opener with 18 kills and just three errors on 32 swings. OU was limited to just seven kills in the first set, with the BU defense holding the Braves to a .088 hitting clip. 

Bellevue built a 7-3 edge in the second frame following a kill by Fountain. OU climbed back to make it a one-point contest on three occasions before the Bruins used a 5-1 run to build a 23-18 lead. The Braves responded with four straight points, keyed by a pair of blocks from Valdez to make it 23-22. 

A kill by Aspen Meyer and an attacking error by Valdez gave the Bruins the second set, 25-22. 

The Bruins broke open a tight third set with a 6-0 run to grab an 11-4 advantage. Ottawa never got closer than six points the remainder of the contest as BU earned the sweep with the 25-14 third-set victory.  

Montana Tech 3, Bellevue 1

Four Bruins recorded double-figure kill totals, led by Kerns who ripped 16 kills on .395 hitting. Sidney Sledge and Eve Fountain both produced 13 kills. Sledge hit .400 while Fountain recorded her fifth double-double of the season, by adding 14 digs. 

Kealy Kiviniemi was the fourth BU player in double figures, finishing with 10 kills. 

BU outhit the Orediggers, .268 to .260 in the loss as Nunn (27) and Aiwohi (20) combined for 47 assists. 

Keefer finished with a team-high 16 digs. 

The trio of Maureen Jessop (19), Olivia Murr (18), and Olivia Labeau (15) combined for 52 of the Orediggers' 67 kills on the night. Jelena Jablanov led all players with 20 digs. 

After the Bruins built an 11-7 advantage in the opener thanks to three kills from Sledge, the Orediggers scored five straight, forcing a BU timeout at 12-11. The game was tied 11 more times before a Bruin attacking error and a kill by Olivia Muir gave MTU the 28-26 victory. 

Sledge (5) and Kerns (4) combined for nine kills in the opening set while Jessop (5), Labeau (5), and Muir (4) pounded 14 of MTU's 19 kills in the first frame. 

Three MTU attacking errors and a service ace by Nunn helped the Bruins race out to a 7-3 lead in the second stanza. Consecutive kills by Morgan Wale, Kiviniemi, and Aiwohi forced an MTU timeout at 14-9. The Bruins closed the set on a 5-1 run to earn the 25-16 victory. 

The Orediggers gained an 11-7 edge in the third frame capped by a kill from Labeau and a service ace by Rhys Layton. The Bruins got as close as one point at 17-16 after a kill by Kiviniemi before MTU used a 4-1 streak to push the margin to four points at 21-17. 

BU got back-to-back kills from Kiviniemi and Fountain to pull to within two points at 21-19. That was as close as the Bruins would get as the two teams traded points the remainder of the set with the final point coming on a kill by Labeau, making it 25-22. 

Neither team could establish any separation in the fourth stanza until back-to-back kills by Sledge completed a 3-0 BU run, giving the Bruins a 13-10 edge. The Orediggers answered with a four-point run to gain a 14-13 lead. The two squads traded points until consecutive kills by Muir gave the Orediggers a 20-18 lead. MTU closed the match on a 3-1 run capped by back-to-back kills from Jessop to earn the 25-21 victory.  

Up Next:

The Bruins will conclude the tournament with a 4 p.m. match on Saturday (Oct. 14) against Grand View University.