No. 5 Viterbo battles back for 4-set win over Bruins

Box Score
NSAA Standings

LA CROSSE, Wis. -- After dropping the opening set by 11 points, the fifth-ranked Viterbo University volleyball squad battled back for a 3-1 (14-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-19) victory over the 18th-ranked Bruins Friday night in North Star Athletic Association action at the R.W. Beggs Senior Gymnasium. 

The loss dropped the Bruins to 19-8 on the season and 5-4 in the NSAA. Viterbo remained unbeaten in conference play, improving to 8-0 in league action and 24-3 overall. 

Eve Fountain led the Bruins with a season-high 16 kills and 26 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. With her 12th dig of the match, Fountain became just the ninth player in school history to join the 1,000-kill, 1,000-dig club. 

Kealy Kiviniemi and Sidney Sledge finished with 11 kills apiece and Haley Fleischman added eight kills and a pair of blocks. 

Taylan Keefer finished with 23 digs and seven assists and Mila Aiwohi (24) and Jada Nunn (15) combined for 39 assists in directing the BU offense to a .150 hitting percentage. 

Kenzie Winker paced the V-Hawks with 18 kills and 14 digs, while Grace Rohde added 17 kills and 16 digs. Kenidi McCabe led the VU defense with a team-high 26 digs. 

Set 1: Bellevue 25, Viterbo 14

Four different Bruins recorded kills in a 7-0 BU run as Bellevue grabbed a 15-7 lead in the opening set. BU extended the lead to 10 points at 19-9 following back-to-back blocks and a kill by Fountain. Two straight kills by Fountain made it 22-11. Two more kills by Fountain and another by Sledge helped the Bruins claim the 11-point victory. 

Fountain had seven kills on nine swings in the opener as BU outhit the V-Hawks, .324 to .073.  

Set 2: Viterbo 25, Bellevue 21

Three V-Hawk attacking errors helped the Bruins grab an early 8-5 advantage in the second frame. VU battled back with four-straight points aided by two BU-hitting miscues and an ace by Callie Kowal, giving the V-Hawks a 9-8 edge. Neither team could gain any separation until VU went on a 5-0 scoring run to take a 17-14 lead. 

After kills by Fountain and Fleischman tied the contest at 20, a service error and two BU hitting errors gave the V-Hawks a three-point cushion at 23-20, forcing a Bruin timeout. After trading points, VU claimed the set on a Bruin service error.  

Set 3: Viterbo 25, Bellevue 18

Viterbo scored the first eight points of the third frame thanks to three BU attacking miscues and three kills by Rohde. Kills by Sledge and Fleischman keyed a 3-0 BU run as the Bruins battled back to within six at 13-7. The V-Hawks countered with three straight points of their own and BU never got closer than six points the remainder of the set as Viterbo secured the 25-18 victory.  

Set 4: Viterbo 25, Bellevue 19

Neither team led by more than three points in the fourth frame until back-to-back kills from Rohde gave the V-Hawks a 12-8 advantage. BU responded with three straight as a kill by Fountain was sandwiched in between two VU-hitting errors to make it a one-point contest at 12-11.  

After a 5-2 VU run forced a Bruin timeout at 18-14, BU fought back, scoring the next three points, sparked by a kill from Allie Kerns, to pull to within a point at 18-17.

A pair of V-Hawks blocks forced the Bruins into their second timeout of the set at 21-18. VU closed out the set with a pair of kills by Rhode, a block by Jada Mitchell, and a kill by Winker. 

Up Next: 

The Bruins will return to action next Friday, Oct. 27, when they travel to Dickinson, N.D. to battle Dickinson State University beginning at 6 p.m. (central time).