POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. -- The Bellevue University volleyball team split a pair of matches Friday at the 2014 MCAC Tournament, topping Waldorf, 3-1 (22-25, 28-26, 25-14, 25-19), before falling to the host school, top-seeded College of the Ozarks, 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 15-25, 16-25) in the semifinals.
The loss to the Bobcats ended the Bruins' 2014 season with a 22-20 record. Ozarks (16-13) advanced to the championship match tomorrow (Nov. 15) at 1 p.m. against the No. 2-seed Oklahoma Wesleyan University. The winner will receive an automatic berth into the NAIA National Tournament.
Freshman outside hitter Rachel Wald led the Bruins on the day, finishing with a pair of double-doubles and 42 kills in the two matches.
Bellevue 3, Waldorf 1
Wald recorded her third double-double of the season, finishing with a match-high 18 kills along with 14 digs to lead the Bruins to the four-game win over the Warriors.
Freshman Gracie Myers and junior Symone Faulkner each pounded 11 kills in the win. Faulkner hit .500 in the match and tied freshman Hope Lambrecht and junior Beth Walker with a match-high five blocks.
Walker directed the BU offense to a .217 hitting percentage, finishing with 43 assists and 11 digs for her 20th double-double of the season.
Bellevue held Waldorf to a .080 hitting percentage in the match, holding a 10-6 edge in blocks and a 66-64 advantage in digs. Freshman Taylor Holz anchored the BU defense with 21 digs.
After losing the first set, 25-22, the Bruins fell behind 23-19 in the second set before scoring five-straight points before finally prevailing 28-26.
The Warriors committed 17 hitting errors in the final two sets as the Bruins cruised to convincing 25-14, 25-19 wins to take the match and advance in the tournament.
College of the Ozarks 3, Bellevue 1
Wald once again paced the Bruins with a career-high 24 kills on .426 hitting, while adding 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. She was the only BU player in double figures in the match.
Freshman Kamille Smith pounded seven kills on .316 hitting. Myers also collected seven kills, while adding five digs and a block.
Walker collected her 21st double-double with 39 assists and 15 digs to go along with four kills and a block.
Along with Walker, the Bruins had three other players in double figures in digs as Holz finished with 16, Addison Smith registered 12 and Hannah Taylor produced 10.
The Bobcats were led by Jamie Reaves' 17 kills on .457 hitting. Chloe Shepherd added 14 kills and a match-high 23 digs. Jenny Wuerffel finished with 10 kills and 19 digs.
Ozarks hit .273 in the match while holding the Bruins' to a .130 attack percentage as BU committed 27 hitting errors and seven service errors in the loss.
