DES MOINES, Iowa -- Sophomore Rachel Wald recorded her third double-double and senior Beth Walker posted her 22nd double-double but it wasn't enough as the Bellevue University volleyball team fell to Ashford, 3-1, on Saturday morning at the Grand View Invitational. Ashford won the match by scores of 25-22, 26-24, 10-25, 25-23.
The match began with a pair of narrow victories for the Saints who seemed at their best when the score was close, claiming the first two sets by a combined five points. Through two sets Ashford held a .208-.145 hitting advantage but Bellevue did was able to keep things close enough to have a chance.
The Bruins dominated the third set, out-hitting Ashford .414-.000 on their way to a convincing 25-10 win to breathe new life into the team. Bellevue committed a match-low two attack errors in the set as they were virtually unstoppable offensively.
The fourth set was, again, a tight affair with Ashford claiming a 25-23 victory to drop Bellevue to 1-2 on the weekend. The Saints seemingly got their offense back in order, hitting .273 and holding BU to a .182 attack effort.
Bellevue out-hit Ashford .210-.172 and held a sizable 66-56 edge in digs on the morning.
Wald finished with 16 kills on a .194 hitting percentage and 16 digs while Walker ended the match with 44 assists and 12 digs. Sophomore Taylor Holz added 15 digs for the Bruins.
Freshman Shayla Scanlan notched 11 kills on .280 hitting while sophomore Mikaylah Gillespie finished the match with nine kills on .273 hitting.
Bellevue (18-13) plays again later this afternoon when they take on No. 10 Evangel at 2 p.m.