BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Junior outside hitter Allie Kerns smashed a career-high 19 kills to lead the 15th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-22) victory over Dakota State University Wednesday night in North Star Athletic Association play in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 19-6 on the season and 7-1 in the NSAA. DSU fell to 13-14 overall and 3-5 in league play.
Kerns added eight digs and a pair of assists in the win.
Sidney Sledge hit .409 with 11 kills, along with two digs and a service ace. Sierra Athen produced nine kills and 11 digs.
Olivia Galas directed the BU offense to a .244 hitting percentage, dishing out 44 assists to go along with 17 digs for her 13th double-double of the season. She also added five kills and a service ace.
Raeanne Kimoto anchored the Bruin defense with a match-high 23 digs.
Sydney Schell and Brooklyn Grage paced the Trojans with eight kills apiece.
After cruising in the first two sets, BU overcame a 16-10 deficit in the third. Kimoto sparked a 7-0 serving run to give the Bruins a 17-16 advantage. After a service error tied the third frame at 17-all, BU scored five straight points, highlighted by a pair of kills from Kerns and a service ace from Sledge to push the margin to 22-17. DSU fought back with a 5-0 run of their own after pair of kills by Madalyn Groft and three straight BU attacking errors to tie the set at 22 apiece. The Bruins closed out the match with a 3-0 run, scoring on a kill by Kerns and back-to-back kills by Athen, to give the Bruins the match with the 25-22 win.
The Bruins will host Valley City State University on Friday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
