Bruins rally for big 5-set road victory

Hope Lambrecht led Bellevue with 13 kills on .379 hitting
Hope Lambrecht led Bellevue with 13 kills on .379 hitting

MADISON, S.D. -- After falling behind two sets to none the 19th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team rallied for an important 3-2 (25-27, 22-25, 25-9, 25-16, 15-11) NSAA victory over Dakota State University on Saturday afternoon at DSU Fieldhouse.

The win saw Bellevue snap a two-game skid and improve to 21-6 (7-2 NSAA) while Dakota State fell to 6-20 (3-7 NSAA) on the season.

#19 Bellevue 3, Dakota State 2 (25-27, 22-25, 25-9, 25-16, 15-11)

1st Set Hitting: BU .159 | DaSU .186

2nd Set Hitting: BU .200 | DaSU .314

3rd Set Hitting: BU .550 | DaSU (-).115

4th Set Hitting: BU .158 | DaSU .028

5th Set Hitting: BU .167 | DaSU .038

Dakota State looked strong in the early going, out-hitting Bellevue .244-.180 as they took a commanding lead through the first two sets. Bellevue, however, would rally with wins in each of the next three sets including a convincing 25-9 third set in which BU out-hit DaSU .550-(-).115.

Hope Lambrecht led four Bruins in double-figure kills with 13 on .379 hitting. She was joined by Shayla Scanlan (12, .323), Mikaylah Gillespie (11, .207), and Andrea Carson (10, .056).

Maddie Squiers tallied another double-double with 21 digs and 48 assists as she directed BU to a .218 hitting percentage while Bellevue out-hit Dakota State (.108 hitting) on the day.

Bellevue also received strong defensive performances from Taylor Holz, who finished with a match-high 24 digs, and Carson who totaled 12 digs to net her first collegiate double-double.

The Trojans were co-led by Sami Zell, Kaylee Spreier, and Carly Rozell each of whom totaled 11 kills on the day. Rachel Johnson (25 assists) and Kendra Steffen (16 assists) combined to quarterback the DaSU offense.

Four Dakota State players reached double-digits in digs led by Bailee Steffensen's 18. Rozell added 15, Johnson 11, and Alwaise Villa supported with 10 for the Trojans who were out-dug 82-75.

The Bruins are off until Tuesday when they head to Forest City, Iowa for a pair of league games against Viterbo University (4 p.m.) and Waldorf University (6 p.m.).