Bruins punch ticket to Sioux City with four-set win over TWU

Box Score
NAIA Opening Round Results

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The fifth-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team earned a 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19) victory over Texas Wesleyan University in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round Saturday evening at Bellevue West High School. The victory helped BU punch its ticket to the NAIA National Championship Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa, on Dec. 4-10. 

Win the win, the Bruins improved to 29-3 on the season. TWU ended its season at 25-9.

Kealy Kiviniemi led the Bruins with 16 kills on .400 hitting while adding five blocks and three digs. Eve Fountain recorded her team-leading 13th double-double of the season with 15 kills and 10 digs while adding two blocks. Haley Fleischman finished with eight kills and six blocks. Savanna Berger added eight kills on .500 hitting with a pair of blocks. Sidney Sledge registered seven kills on 15 errorless swings.

Mila Aiwohi recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 22 assists and 16 digs. She, along with Victoria Runyan, who finished with 21 assists, guided the Bruin offense to a .288 hitting percentage. 

Taylan Keefer finished with 12 digs, four assists, and two service aces.  

The Rams were paced by Lyric Biggiers and Sydney Alexander, who finished with 10 kills apiece. America Galvan led all players with 21 digs.  

Set 1: Bellevue 25, Texas Wesleyan 20

After overcoming an early 7-3 deficit, the Bruins went on a 5-1 run, capped by a kill and an ace by Kenzie Polk to tie the opening set at 8-8. BU gained an 18-15 lead following a kill by Kiviniemi and an ace by Runyan. The Rams closed the deficit to one point at 18-17 after a BU service error and an attacking error. 

With a pair of TWU-hitting errors and a block by Fountain and Fleischman on Makenna Gantt, the Bruins took a 22-18 lead. A kill and a block by Fleischman sealed the 25-20 first-set victory. 

Kiviniemi and Fountain led BU in the opening frame with three kills apiece as BU outhit the Rams, .294 to .139. Alexander paced TWU with four first-set kills.  

Set 2: Texas Wesleyan 25, Bellevue 22

A six-point BU serving run by Polk helped BU turn a 5-3 deficit into a 9-5 lead in the second. The Rams used a 4-0 run, sparked by kills from Lyric Biggiers and Ruby O'Brien, to tie the set at 13-all. A 3-0 spurt capped by an overpass kill by Hanna Rubis gave TWU a 16-14 advantage. 

Consecutive kills by Biggiers and Migdaly Bernal forced a BU timeout with the Rams leading 20-17. An attacking error by Fountain and a service ace by Rubis extended the Ram lead to five points at 23-18. Kills by Sidney Sledge and Fleischman and two by Kiviniemi closed the gap to one point at 23-22. The Rams earned the 25-22 win following a kill by Alexander and a Bruin attacking error.

Once again, Kiviniemi and Fountain recorded three kills each to guide the BU offense in the second stanza. 

The Rams outhit BU in the second frame, .265 to .175.

Set 3: Bellevue 25, Texas Wesleyan 16

After the Bruins raced out to an early 6-2 lead in the third, the Rams battled back, using a 3-0 run to draw to within a point at 13-12.

Back-to-back kills by Sledge and Fountain forced a Ram timeout at 18-14. Ignited by three kills from Kiviniemi, the Bruins closed the set on a 6-1 run to take the third frame, 25-16. 

Kiviniemi pounded eight kills in the third set to pace the BU offense that hit .474 with 18 kills on 38 errorless swings. 

Set 4: Bellevue 25, Texas Wesleyan 19

Consecutive kills by Kiviniemi, Fleischman, and Polk helped the Bruins gain a 13-9 advantage in the fourth frame.

After a kill by Kiviniemi gave the Bruins a 16-11 lead, TWU used a 4-0 run to draw to within a point at 16-15. Bellevue responded with a 5-1 spurt, sparked by a pair of kills from Fountain, to gain a 21-16 edge. After another kill by Fountain gave BU a 23-17 lead, the Rams scored the next two points to force a Bruin timeout at 23-19. A pair of Bruin blocks ended the match, giving BU the 25-19 victory.  

Up Next:

Pool play assignments and schedules for the NAIA Volleyball National Championship Final Site will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 24, at 1 p.m. The action at the final site will take place inside the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, and will start with three days of pool play from December 4-6. At the conclusion of pool play, the top team in each three-team pool will advance to the elimination bracket, starting with the quarterfinals, on Saturday, December 7. The semifinals will be played on Monday, December 9, and the national champion will be crowned on Tuesday, December 10.

The Bruins will be going to the Final Site in Sioux City for the 11th time in school history.