GEORGETOWN, Ky. -- After dropping the opening set, the 13th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team won the final three games as they defeated No. 10 Embry Riddle Aeronautical (Fla.) University 22-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-21 Friday night in its second match of the Georgetown (Ky.) Boneyard Brawl at the George H.W. Bush Center.
Bellevue improved to 26-5 with the win while Embry Riddle dropped to 13-8 overall this season.
Sydney DeBoer pounded a match-high 19 kills on .385 hitting while Annie Benson tallied 13 kills and 17 digs for her second double-double on the day. Symone Faulkner and Caitlyn Rueth added 10 kills each. Rueth also recorded a career-high 23 digs.
Beth Walker finished the match with 53 assists, eight digs and five kills.
Meghan Evans registered 23 digs, three service aces and three assists. Kirstine Linebaugh chipped in 12 digs.
Trailing 19-12 in the opening set, the Bruins went on an 8-1 run to tie the game at 20-20, but the Eagles responded by scoring five of the final seven points to win, 25-22. ERAU hit .379 while the Bruins, who never led in the set, finished with a hitting percentage of .146.
BU scored the first three points and led by as many as eight en route to the 25-17 win in the second game. DeBoer led the Bruins offensively with eight kills in the set.
The Bruins continued their momentum into the third set as they opened on an 11-5 spurt. ERAU answered back and outscored BU 11-8 to cut its deficit down to three, 19-16, but they never got any closer as BU posted the 25-19 win.
With the fourth tied at 7-7, the Bruins scored the next four points to open an 11-7 advantage. The Eagles used a 4-1 run to pull within one (12-11) before a 7-1 spurt gave BU a seven-point lead, 19-12. Once again, ERAU answered back with a run of its own and scored six-straight points to cut the Bruins' lead down to one, 19-18, but BU outscored the Eagles 6-3 to end the stanza and win, 25-21.
ERAU was led by Jennifer Beatty's 14 digs and 11 kills.
BU has now defeated three top 25 teams this season.
The Bruins will conclude tournament action tomorrow (Oct. 26) with matches scheduled against No. 23 Davenport University (25-8) at 1:30 p.m. (EST) and host Georgetown (Ky.) College (24-8) at 5:30 p.m. (EST).
