Balanced Bruins Down DSU in Four Sets

Box Score
Frontier Standings

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The eighth-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team rebounded from an early-season five-set loss at Dickinson State University with a hard-fought 3–1 victory (25-17, 24-26, 25-16, 25-21) Friday evening at the BU Fieldhouse. The win extended BU's winning streak to five matches. 

The Bruins improve to 15-3 overall and 11-2 in the Frontier Conference, while the Blue Hawks drop to 9-8, 5-7 FC.

Eve Fountain recorded her team-leading ninth double-double of the season, finishing with 14 kills and 19 digs to lead a balanced BU attack. Savanna Berger added 13 kills and seven blocks, while Kealy Kiviniemi hit .229 with 12 kills and eight blocks. A'Lailah Perry chipped in 10 kills and three blocks, and Chloe Cloud contributed seven kills on .412 hitting while adding six blocks.

Jada Nunn and Mila Aiwohi ran the offense efficiently, combining for 52 assists — Nunn 31 and Aiwohi 21 — as Bellevue hit .192 on 61 kills against 26 errors. Ali Butler collected 16 digs, and Zoie Roghair added 14.

For DSU, Aubrey Allison posted a team-high 14 kills, 10 digs, and three aces, while Carmen Pallone added 10 kills and five blocks. Rylee Kogolshak dished 36 assists and tallied nine digs, and Geraldyne Fernandez collected 21 digs to pace the Blue Hawks' back row. DSU finished with 45 kills (.094) and nine team blocks.

Set 1 — Bellevue 25, Dickinson State 17

Bellevue opened strong, capitalizing on five early Blue Hawk attack errors to build a 7-2 lead. The Bruins' front line, led by Kiviniemi and Cloud, controlled the net as the margin grew to 16-6 following a 6-0 run. Dickinson State cut the deficit to 22-17, but Fountain and Kiviniemi delivered back-to-back kills to close the set. BU hit .208 while limiting the Blue Hawks to .065 in the frame.

Set 2: Dickinson State 26, Bellevue University 24

The second set featured two ties and one lead change as Bellevue again started quickly, taking a 12-6 advantage after a Perry block. The Bruins maintained control until the late stages, but trailing 22-18, Allison caught fire — recording four kills and two aces over the final stretch as Dickinson State closed on an 8-2 run to win 26-24. Samantha Oase capped the comeback with an over-dig kill to even the match at a set apiece.

Set 3: Bellevue University 25, Dickinson State 16

Bellevue regrouped with a dominant third set, hitting .324 with 13 kills and just two errors. The frame included three ties before BU took over midway through. Kiviniemi and Berger combined for three kills during an 8-1 spurt that pushed the lead to 18-11. Aiwohi added an ace during the run, and Cloud sealed the set with a kill to give the Bruins a 2-1 match lead.

Set 4: Bellevue University 25, Dickinson State 21

The final set was tightly contested with three ties and one lead change. Dickinson State led 16-10 before Bellevue mounted a 9-2 run to gain a 19-18 advantage, capped by a Berger–Fountain block on Oase. From there, Fountain delivered back-to-back kills to extend the lead, and Cloud's final kill closed out the match as the Bruins prevailed 25-21 to secure the victory.

Up Next:

The Bruins will host Bismarck State College in a Frontier Conference match tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the BU Fieldhouse.