BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The No. 15 Bellevue University volleyball team overcame a slow first set to sweep Dakota State University and clinch at least a share of the North Star Athletic Association regular-season championship.
Bellevue improves to 13-3 overall and 11-1 in NSAA play, two games ahead of second place Mayville State with two matches to play. Dakota State falls to 12-8 and 8-4 in league action.
Despite hitting just .111 in the first set, Bellevue edged past Dakota State 25-22 limiting the Trojans to just .022 hitting in the stanza.
The Bruins turned it on offensively over the final two sets, hitting a combined .308, to dispatch DSU by scores of 25-19 and 25-15, respectively.
Sierra Athen led the Bruin attack with 13 kills on .226 hitting to go along with eight digs and a pair of blocks. Eve Fountain and Jacki Apel registered nine kills apiece while Bruin middles Coree Lipovsky and Sienna Black combined to hit .474 on 19 attacks.
Olivia Galas directed BU to a .227 hitting percentage with her seventh double-double of the year as she totaled 36 assists and 11 digs.
Riley Grandpre totaled nine kills for the Trojans and Maddie Polzin added seven for DSU who hit just .094 on the night.
BU wraps up the regular season this weekend with a pair of matches on the road. The Bruins visit Mayville State (20-9/9-3 NSAA) Friday at 6 p.m. and Presentation (6-16/3-10 NSAA) Saturday at 1 p.m.
