BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Four players collected double-figure kill totals as the 12th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team took over first place in the North Star Athletic Association standings with a 3-1 (25-10, 24-26, 25-15, 25-17) victory over Mayville State University Friday night in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 7-2 on the season and 5-0 in the NSAA. MSU fell to 16-6 overall and 5-1 in league matches.
Sierra Athen led the Bruins with her third double-double of the season, collecting a season-high 17 kills on .326 hitting while adding 16 digs.
Eve Fountain registered her fifth double-double in 2020-21, finishing with 15 kills and 13 digs while adding two service aces.
Coree Lipovsky tied a season-high with 13 kills on .417 hitting and added three blocks.
Jacki Apel was the fourth Bruin in double figures, notching a career-high 13 kills on a sizzling .476 hitting percentage.
Olivia Galas directed the BU offense to a .276 hitting percentage while recording her fifth double-double of the season with 56 assists and 12 digs while adding six kills and three blocks.
Anna Koehler anchored the Bruin defense, finishing with a career-high 31 digs while adding three assists and a pair of service aces.
The Comets were led by Victoria Johnson, who finished with 10 kills and a pair of blocks. She was the lone MSU player in double figures.
The Bruins got out of the gate quickly, hitting .345 in the opening set while limiting the Comet offense to a -.083 attacking clip. Fountain and Lipovsky both collected three kills in the first frame as BU used a 15-4 run midway through the set to cruise to the 25-10 victory.
MSU heated up in the second set, hitting .283 while racing out to a 15-7 lead capped by a kill from Victoria Johnson. Sparked by three kills from Athen, the Bruins responded with a 13-4 spurt to gain a 20-19 advantage. The two teams traded points over the next nine rallies and with the score tied at 24-all, MSU captured the frame on kills from Natalie Hadrava and Lily Pyle, evening the match at one set apiece.
BU never trailed in the third set, using a seven-point serving run by Brooklyn Hundt to take a commanding 12-4 lead. BU doubled the score at 22-11 following consecutive kills by Athen, Apel, and Sienna Black before earning the 25-15 victory. Athen had eight kills on .500 hitting in the third stanza.
Apel recorded four kills on five errorless swings to help BU close out the match with the 25-17 victory in the fourth set.
The Bruins will host Presentation College tomorrow (Mar. 6) at noon in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
