Bruin trio honored again with NSAA weekly awards
For the second-straight week, the sixth-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team has swept the North Star Athletic Association weekly awards with the same three players being honored. Kealy Kiviniemi was named the NSAA Attacker of the Week. Mila Aiwohi was honored as the NSAA Setter of the Week, and Taylan Keefer captured the NSAA Defender of the Week honors.
BISMARCK, N.D. -- For the second-straight week, the sixth-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team has swept the North Star Athletic Association weekly awards with the same three players being honored. Kealy Kiviniemi was named the NSAA Attacker of the Week. Mila Aiwohi was honored as the NSAA Setter of the Week, and Taylan Keefer captured the NSAA Defender of the Week honors.
The trio helped the Bruins to a pair of road sweeps over the weekend. BU defeated Valley City State and Mayville State to extend its winning streak to 12 matches, claiming a share of the NSAA regular-season title with the No. 4 ranked University of Jamestown.
Kiviniemi, who won her fourth NSAA Attacker of the Week award this season, averaged 3.50 kills per set in the two wins while hitting .340. She also added 11 digs and five blocks on the weekend. Kiviniemi hit .455 in the sweep over Mayville, with 11 kills and just one error in 22 attempts. She collected 10 kills, eight digs, and four blocks in the 3-0 victory over the Vikings.
In the latest NSAA statistics, Kiviniemi leads the league with 363 kills and a .374 hitting percentage. She is second with 3.46 kills per set.
A four-time NSAA Setter of the Week honoree this season, Aiwohi averaged 9.67 assists in the two victories while adding three service aces and seven digs. Despite playing in just three rotations as part of BU's 6-2 offense, Aiwohi recorded 31 assists in the Bruins' sweep at VCSU and 27 in the win over MSU.
Aiwohi ranks third in the conference with 6.93 assists per set and third with 0.32 service aces per game.
Keefer won her second NSAA Defender of the Week nod this season and the eighth of her BU career. She averaged 7.50 digs per set in the two sweeps while adding three assists and a pair of service aces. She had 30 digs in the three-set win over the Vikings and followed that up with 15 in the sweep over the Comets.
In the most recent league statistics, Keefer ranks second with 459 digs and fourth with 4.41 digs per set.
Bellevue (26-3, 9-1 NSAA) earned the No. 1 seed in the NSAA Tournament and received a first-round bye, and will be the tournament host. The Bruins will meet the winner of the No. 4 Valley City State vs. No. 5 Dickinson State matchup on Friday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. The NSAA Championship match is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16.