No. 7 Bellevue downs Valley City State in four sets

Box Score
Frontier Conference Standings

VALLEY CITY, N.D. -- Seventh-ranked Bellevue University extended its winning ways with a 3–1 Frontier Conference victory (25–22, 15–25, 25–10, 25–15) over Valley City State University on Friday night inside the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse. The Bruins improved to 23–3 overall and 19–2 in league play, while the Vikings slipped to 12–14 (10–11 Frontier). The win marked Bellevue's 13th straight as senior outside hitter Eve Fountain recorded her team-leading 12th double-double of the season.

Bellevue was led by Savanna Berger with 14 kills on .542 hitting and seven blocks, while Kealy Kiviniemi added 15 kills on a .464 clip and Fountain contributed 13 kills with 20 digs. Sophia McIntyre chipped in seven kills, and setters Mila Aiwohi, Victoria Runyan, and Jada Nunn combined for 47 assists. Zoie Roghair anchored the back row with 22 digs.

For VCSU, Macy Fridgen paced the Vikings with 13 kills on .323 hitting, followed by Danielle Hagler and Emma Lucas with seven apiece. Madden Bogenreif handed out 21 assists, and JayCee Richter recorded 15 digs.

Set 1 – Bellevue 25, VCSU 22

Valley City State opened strong behind Fridgen and Lucas, leading 10–4 before Bellevue regrouped. Sparked by McIntyre and Kiviniemi, the Bruins erased the deficit with a 9–2 surge. Tied 16-all, BU used late kills from Berger and Fountain and closed on a 9–6 stretch to seal the opener 25–22.

Set 2 – VCSU 25, Bellevue 15

The Vikings controlled the second frame throughout, jumping to a 6–0 lead on Fridgen's swings and a pair of BU errors. Bellevue never got closer than four as VCSU outhit the Bruins .231 to .089 and evened the match at 1–1 behind a balanced effort from Hagler and Lucas.

Set 3 – Bellevue 25, VCSU 10

Bellevue dominated the third, racing out to a 19–3 lead and forcing two Viking timeouts. Berger's front-row presence and the Bruins' balanced attack proved too much as BU hit .400 in the frame while holding VCSU to .000 in a 25–10 rout.

Set 4 – Bellevue 25, VCSU 15

The Bruins carried momentum into the fourth, scoring 12 of the first 16 points behind strong play from Kiviniemi and Berger. Bellevue maintained control throughout, stretching the margin to double digits late and cruising to a 25–15 clincher.

By the Numbers

Kills: Kiviniemi 15, Berger 14, Fountain 13, McIntyre 7

Assists: Aiwohi 25, Runyan 15, Nunn 7 (47 combined)

Digs: Roghair 22, Fountain 20, Butler 12, Aiwohi 9

Blocks: Berger 7 (1 solo, 6 assist), Fountain 5, McIntyre 3, Cloud 3

Hitting: Bellevue .260 (57–18–150) → VCSU .077 (38–26–156)

Points: Berger 18.0, Fountain 15.5, Kiviniemi 15.0, McIntyre 9.0

Milestone Watch

Fountain now has 1,829 career kills, remaining No. 2 on BU's all-time list behind Sierra Athen (1,886 / 2018–22).
She also moved into sixth place all-time in career digs with 1,844, surpassing Rachel Muller (1,829; 2006–09) and Brenda Quinn (1,831; 1997–00).

Up Next

The Bruins will wrap up the regular season tomorrow (Nov. 8) when they travel to Mayville, N.D., for a 1 p.m. contest at Mayville State University.