BU claims share of NSAA title with sweep over Comets

Box Score
NSAA Standings

MAYVILLE, N.D. -- The sixth-ranked Bellevue University volleyball squad claimed a share of the North Star Athletic Association regular-season title on Saturday with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-15) sweep at Mayville State University. 

The Bruins, who have now won 12 straight matches, finished the NSAA regular season tied atop the league standings with fourth-ranked University of Jamestown at 9-1. Bellevue is 26-3 overall. Mayville dropped to 8-18 overall and 1-9 in the NSAA. 

Bellevue committed just six attacking errors on the day, hitting .473 for the match while limiting MSU to a .153 hitting clip. 

Eve Fountain led the Bruins with her 12th double-double of the season, finishing with 11 kills and 13 digs. She hit a sizzling .846 in the match with no errors in 13 attempts. 

Kealy Kiviniemi joined Fountain in double figures with 11 kills on .455 hitting. Sidney Sledge hit .636 with seven kills on 11 errorless swings. Kenzie Polk, Haley Fleischman, and Savanna Berger all finished with six kills in the win. 

Mila Aiwohi (27) and Victoria Runyan (18) combined for 45 assists, and Taylan Keefer paced the BU defense with 15 digs. 

Madison McKinnon led the Comets with nine kills, while Samantha Passa and Desidy Schwanke added seven kills apiece.  

BU scored the first five points of the match and extended the lead to 10-2 following a block by Berger and Polk on Schwanke. A 10-5 run capped by a kill from Kiviniemi extended the margin to 13 points at 20-7. A kill by Polk gave BU the opening set, 25-10, as BU hit .481 with 16 kills and just one error on 27 attempts. 

The second set featured 13 ties and six lead changes, and neither team led by more than two points the entire frame. Tied at 23-all, BU took the set following a kill by Kiviniemi and an attack error by Schwanke. 

The Bruins used an early 4-0 run sparked by a pair of kills from Sledge to gain an 8-4 advantage in the third set. A five-point spurt, capped by a kill from Berger, expanded the margin to nine points at 16-7. Back-to-back kills by Passa highlighted a 4-0 Comet run to pull MSU to within five points at 16-11. That was as close as the Comets would get as BU cruised to the 25-15 victory.  

Times and pairings for the NSAA Tournament will be released early next week. Bellevue and Jamestown will receive first-round byes.