BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Valley City State University hit .345, committing just eight attacking errors as the Vikings earned a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-21) sweep over 15th-ranked Bellevue University Friday afternoon in North Star Athletic Association action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The loss dropped the Bruins to 16-5 on the season and 4-2 in the NSAA. VCSU improved to 16-4 overall and 4-1 in league play.
Kealy Kiviniemi led all players with 14 kills on .462 hitting while adding two digs and a pair of blocks. Eve Fountain finished with 10 kills and six digs. Sidney Sledge hit .353 with seven kills on 17 swings with just one error.
Mila Aiwohi (25) and Jada Nunn (16) combined for 41 assists as BU hit .216 in the loss.
Taylan Keefer anchored the Bruin defense with a match-high 23 digs.
Bailey Nelson led three Vikings in double figures, finishing with 11 kills on .360 hitting. Middles Daniell Hagler and Morgan Freije both pounded 10 kills. Freije hit .500 while adding a match-high five blocks.
Sadie Hansen dished out 39 assists while adding seven digs, three blocks, and three kills, and JayCee Richter led the Viking defense with 15 digs.
Set 1: Valley City State 25, Bellevue 15
VCSU hit .419 in the opening frame while cruising to the 10-point victory.
The Vikings scored the first three points of the match and led 9-5 following BU's third attacking error of the set. A service ace by JayCee Richter forced a BU timeout at 13-8. VCSU gained a 19-13 advantage following a kill by Hagler and extended the margin to 22-14 following another BU hitting miscue.
Back-to-back kills by Nelson gave VCSU the first set, 25-15.
Kiviniemi pounded six kills on .556 hitting to lead the BU offense in the opener.
Nelson (4) and Hagler (3) combined for seven kills on 14 errorless swings to pace the Vikings in the first set.
Set 2: Valley City State 25, Bellevue 17
After the Vikings raced out to a 6-2 lead in the second frame, the Bruins stormed back with a 6-2 run capped by two straight kills from Fountain that tied the contest at 8-all.
Kills by Emma Lucas and Hagler and a service ace by Hansen keyed a 7-2 Viking run as VCSU built a 20-15 advantage.
VCSU scored the final four points to earn the 25-17 second-set victory.
Set 3: Valley City State 25, Bellevue 21
Neither team could establish any separation in the third stanza until the Vikings went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-6 advantage.
Sparked by three straight kills from Kiviniemi, the Bruins battled back to within one point at 15-14 following a 5-0 scoring run.
VCSU used a 3-0 run to push the margin to four points at 20-16 following a kill by Freije.
After kills by Sledge and Fountain drew BU to within one point at 21-20, the Vikings scored three straight to make it 24-20.
The Bruins saved the first match point on a kill by Fountain before VCSU took the match on a kill by Emma Lucas, earning the sweep with the 25-21 victory.
Up Next:
The Bruins will travel to Madison, S.D., on Tuesday, Oct. 10, for a 6 p.m. NSAA contest at Dakota State University.
