BELLEVUE, Neb. - Junior All-American Beth Walker (Dubuque, Iowa) did a little bit of everything to lead the Bellevue University volleyball team to their third straight win with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-15) triumph over Mayville State University in non-conference action on Thursday at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
Walker was instrumental in defining the match. Trailing 12-11 in the second set, she turned her back to the net to rally her teammates, urging them to "Pick it up!" One of just three upper classmen on the roster, she then took matters into her own hands on the ensuing point with a lightning quick no-look kill to start a 9-2 run. BU would hold on to win the set 25-21 to take a 2-0 lead in the match with the deciding point coming on Walker's second of four no-look kills of the match.
Mayville State started the match strong, using a 10-4 run to build a 23-22 lead in the first set but it wouldn't be enough as BU scored the final three points of the set to take a 1-0 and not look back from there. The first set was marked by impressive performances from junior Symone Faulkner (Denver, Colo.) and freshman Gracie Myers (Treynor, Iowa) who had seven and five kills, respectively, in the opening set. Walker contributed to the scoring with 4 kills and 14 assists in the first set.
The decisive set was marked by a pair of big runs by the Bruins. Trailing 6-5 early on BU scored six straight points on their way to a 10-2 run to claim a 15-8 lead. The spurt was highlighted by a thunderous kill from freshman Hope Lambrecht (Wood River, Neb.). The second run started after the Comets had tightened things up, pulling within four at 18-14. However, Bellevue scored seven of the final eight points to claim a 25-15 victory in the set and secure the match.
Walker led the offensive charge with nine kills, hitting an incredible .818 for the match while adding 38 assists, and a pair of service aces. Faulkner was tops on the team with 13 kills while hitting .375. Lambrecht recorded nine kills (.533) and so did Myers (.250). Freshmen Taylor Holz (Omaha, Neb.), Maddy Nygren (Mead, Neb.), and Hannah Taylor (Hallam, Neb.) recorded nine, seven, and five digs, respectively.
Bellevue improves to 3-11 with the victory and have now won three straight matches. Mayville State drops to 2-7 with their fifth loss in their last six matches. With the victory the Bruins now own a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series with the Comets which dates back to the 2005 season and have yet to drop a set against Mayville.
For the match the Bruins outhit the Comets by a .250 to .198 margin and gained a 40-29 advantage in digs.
Bellevue will return to play tomorrow with a 7pm match against Southwestern University at the Lied Athletic Center in Omaha.
