LA CROSSE, Wisc. - The Bellevue University volleyball team was able to get into the win column on day two of the Viterbo University Tournament on Saturday. Bellevue beat Campbellsville University 3-0 in the opener before securing a 3-0 victory against Dakota Wesleyan University in the nightcap as the Bruins now sits at 1-11 on the season.
Match One: Bellevue 3, Campbellsville 0 (26-24, 27-25, 25-22)
Junior Symone Faulkner (Denver, Colo.) had 13 kills and attacked at .476 while classmate Beth Walker (Dubuque, Iowa) tallied 38 assists and eight digs to lead Bellevue to their first victory of the season, 3-0, over Campbellsville.
The first set was close until Campbellsville took a 22-16 lead late and seemed to have the match on cruise control. That wasn't the case, however, as the Bruins scored the next six points to tie it up at 22-22. After taking a 24-23 and missing a set point conversion BU scored the next two points on kills by Faulkner to go up 1-0 in the match.
The second set was even tighter as neither team could get more than four points of separation. Each team had a set point – BU at 24-23 and Campbellsville at 25-24 – but neither converted until the Bruins ran off the final three points of the set to give Bellevue a commanding 2-0 lead.
The third set was similar to the first with Campbellsville leading late (22-20) but a furious BU rally which allowed the Bruins to score the final five points of the set gave them their first victory of the season, 3-0.
For the match Bellevue out-hit Campbellsville .273-.236, out-dug them 45-32, and out-blocked them 7-3. The blocking effort was led by freshman Hope Lambrecht (Wood River, Neb.) who totaled six block assists and sophomore LaJaida Even (Waverly, Iowa) who aided the cause with four block assists.
Match Two: Bellevue 3, Dakota Wesleyan 0 (25-23, 29-27, 25-21)
Freshman Rachel Wald (Omaha, Neb.) led all players with 13 kills and a .321 hitting percentage to lead Bellevue to a 3-0 victory over Dakota Wesleyan in the fourth and final match of the Viterbo University Tournament.
Bellevue jumped out to a large 11-3 lead in the first set and, despite some rallies by Dakota Wesleyan, never looked back on their way to winning the opener by a 25-23 count.
The second set saw an impressive rally by Bellevue. Dakota Wesleyan led 24-21 but a kill by Lambrecht and a trio of errors by the Tigers saw BU take a 25-24 lead before eventually holding on for the 29-27 win as a result of a pair of attack errors to close out the set.
The third set saw Bellevue lead wire-to-wire en route to a 25-21 third set victory and the Bruins' first winning streak of the season.
Bellevue out-hit Dakota Wesleyan .163-.117 and out-blocked the Tigers by a final count of 9-6.
Freshman Hannah Taylor (Hallam, Neb.) led the Bruins with 11 digs while Walker's 35 assists were tops among all players.
Bellevue will return to action on Thursday, Sept. 11 when they host Mayville State ay 7:00 pm.
