BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University volleyball team took over sole possession of first place in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 3-1 (25- 19, 26-28, 25-12, 25-18) victory over the College of the Ozarks Friday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The Bruins improved to 25-9 overall and 6-0 in the MCAC. Ozarks fell to 14-13 on the season and 7-1 in league play.
Caitlyn Rueth and Annie Benson combined for 31 killls to lead the Bruin offense. Rueth finished with 16 kills, three digs, and a pair of blocks. Benson pounded 15 kills while addding eight digs. Sydney DeBoer produced 11 kills, six blocks, and a service ace.
Senior setter Jordan Broady collected her 14th double-double of the year, registering 46 assists, 17 digs, eight kills, and six blocks while guiding the BU offense to a .226 hitting percentage.
Meghan Evans anchored the Bellevue defense with a match-high 26 digs.
Hannah Meadows paced the Bobcats with 14 kills and 11 digs.
With the opening set tied at 9-all, the Bruins used an 11-5 run to open a six-point lead, 20-14, before three straight Bobcat points forced a Bruin timeout. BU responded by scoring five of the final seven points capped off with a Rueth kill to win, 25-19. Rueth and DeBoer combined for 11 of the Bruins' 16 kills in the first set.
The Bobcats opened the second game on an 8-3 run before a 5-1 Bruin spurt pulled BU to within one, 9-8. COFO led the remainder of the stanza until five-straight BU points tied the set at 23-23. The two teams exchanged the next six points before Ozarks scored the final three points to win, 28-26.
The Bruins raced out to an 8-4 lead in the third set and held Ozarks to a .044 hitting percentage as BU cruised to the 25-12 win. Benson and DeBoer both notched three kills to lead the Bellevue offense in the third.
Facing an early 5-2 deficit, the Bruins went on a pivotal 12-4 run to propel them to a 25-18 fourth set win. The duo of Rueth and Benson accounted for 11 of the team's 13 kills as BU finished with a .281 hitting percentage. The Bobcats were plagued by nine hitting errors as they hit just .027 in the fourth set.
The Bruins will host Central Baptist College at 1 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 20) at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
