Kiviniemi guides BU past Defenders, 3-1

Box Score

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa -- The eighth-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team fought off three set points in the third frame and scored the final 12 points in the fourth as the Bruins earned a 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 29-27, 25-15) victory at Dordt University in non-conference action Tuesday night at DeWitt Gymnasium. 

The Bruins, who have now won eight straight matches, improved to 12-2 on the season. Dordt fell to 8-6 overall.  

Junior rightside hitter Kealy Kiviniemi continued her strong play, leading the Bruins with 14 kills on .448 hitting while adding five blocks and three digs.

Savanna Berger hit .500 with eight kills on 14 swings. She also added a match-high six blocks. 

Eve Fountain (19) and Taylan Keefer (18) combined for 37 digs to anchor the Bruin defense, which limited the Defenders to a .107 hitting percentage. Bellevue out-blocked DU, 11-7. 

Mila Aiwohi finished with 28 assists, five digs, and a kill. Victoria Runyan dished out 16 assists while adding nine digs and a pair of service aces. 

Ellie Weg paced the Defenders with 12 kills and four blocks. Tarren Spartz added 10 kills and a pair of digs. 

After a slow start in the opening set, the Bruins used a 10-3 run capped by a solo block from Berger to grab a 12-8 advantage, forcing a Dordt timeout. A five-point BU run aided by three-straight errors from Spartz gave the Bruins a 19-11 advantage. Sparked by two service aces from Kelly McArthur, the Defenders closed the gap to 19-15 following a 4-0 DU spurt. After Dordt got to within two points, BU capitalized on two DU service errors and a pair of attacking errors to gain the 25-20 first-set victory. 

Dordt was plagued by 11 hitting errors in the opening frame as the Defenders hit -.054. Berger and Kiviniemi led BU in the first set with three kills each. 

The Defenders warmed up in the second, pounding six kills in their first 11 swings to gain an early 13-5 lead. The Bruins responded with a 5-0 run highlighted by an ace from Mila Aiwohi and a kill by Fountain to cut the deficit to three points at 13-10. Two straight DU hitting errors helped Bellevue get to within a point at 15-14. The Defenders used a pair of kills by Haley Kuperus to regain the momentum, taking a 19-15 lead. After an attack error by Fountain gave DU a 23-17 edge, the Bruins scored three straight to pull to within three at 23-20. DU closed out the frame with a kill by Weg and a service ace by Kylie Beckering, evening the match at one set apiece. 

After a kill by Fountain and a service ace by Ali Butler helped BU gain a 13-7 lead to open the third set, the Defenders countered with a 4-0 run to make it a two-point contest at 13-11. The two teams traded the next 16 points until Dordt used a 3-0 run to gain a 22-21 advantage following a kill by Ellie Dokter. Bellevue saved three set points and closed the frame on a 3-0 run to earn the dramatic 29-27 victory, capped by a definitive kill from Kiviniemi.  

Sparked by three straight kills from Weg, DU fought back from an early 11-7 deficit to take a 15-13 lead in the fourth. The Bruins answered by scoring the final 12 points of the contest to take the match with the 25-15 victory.  

The Bruins open up conference play on Friday, Sept. 20, when they host Dakota State University at 6 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.