BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Outside hitters Sierra Athen and Andrea Carson combined for 37 kills to lead the 15th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-19, 27-25, 21-25, 25-23) upset victory over No. 4-ranked Viterbo University Friday night in North Star Athletic Association action at a packed Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 16-4 on the season and 4-1 in the NSAA. Viterbo fell to 18-4 overall and 4-1 in league play.
Athen recorded her team-leading 11th double-double of the season, finishing with 23 kills on .333 hitting to go along with 13 digs and five blocks. Carson finished with 14 kills on .316 hitting and added four digs and a block.
Freshman Nicole Meyer pounded a career-high 11 kills and added five blocks as the Bruins held a 12-5 advantage in total blocks in the victory.
Olivia Galas directed the BU offense to a .259 attack percentage, dishing out 57 assists while producing three kills, three digs, and a block.
Defensively, Madi Evans produced a season-high 26 digs, while Paige Holdsworth registered 15 digs. The Bruins held a 72-56 edge in digs in the match, limiting the V-Hawks to a .189 hitting percentage.
Outside hitters Katie Frohmader (18) and Kenzie Winkler (10) combined for 28 kills to pace the VU offense.
The Bruins hit at a .455 clip in the opening set, leading by as many as eight points before cruising to the 25-19 victory. Athen and Carson combined for 11 kills in the first set as both hit .500.
Bellevue trailed by as many as five points in the second set before closing the frame on an 8-3 run to squeak out the 27-25 win, taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. Athen continued her hot hitting, collecting seven kills while adding four digs and a pair of blocks in the second game.
The V-Hawks led from start-to-finish in the third set as BU committed five receive errors and two service errors, giving VU the 25-21 victory despite the Bruins out-hitting the V-Hawks, .244 to .182.
The match appeared to be headed to a fifth set as Viterbo held a 23-18 lead in the fourth stanza. However, BU used a 7-0 run to close out the match, propelled by consecutive kills from Athen, a block by Rosa Reed-Bouley and Meyer, a kill by Coree Lipovsky, and a pair of kills by Reed-Bouley to seal the dramatic four-set upset win.
The Bruins will host Waldorf University at 1 p.m. tomorrow (Oct. 5) in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
