ABERDEEN, S.D. -- Eve Fountain, Sierra Athen, and Jacki Apel combined for 48 kills to lead the 15th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-18) victory at Presentation College Saturday afternoon to help the Bruins claim the North Star Athletic Association regular-season title.
With the win, BU improved to 14-4 on the season and finished the NSAA regular season with a 12-2 mark. Presentation fell to 6-17 overall and 3-11 in league play.
The Bruins will open the NSAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed with the first round set for this Tuesday, March 30. BU will host No. 8 Waldorf University at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. Official times and pairings will be announced later today.
The NSAA regular-season title was the first for the Bruins in program history.
Fountain led the Bruins with 20 kills on .333 hitting while adding 12 digs for her team-leading ninth double-double of the season.
Athen also produced a double-double with 14 kills and a team-leading 15 digs.
Apel chipped in with 14 kills, three digs, and a service ace.
Olivia Galas, who suffered a facial injury in Friday night's match at Mayville State, dished out 50 assists and added nine digs and a service ace.
The Saints were paced by Allie White's 11 kills and three blocks.
The Bruins hit .306 in the opening set, led by four kills each from Athen and Fountain as BU earned the 25-20 win.
The Saints raced out to a 9-5 lead in the second set and maintained a 19-14 advantage following a block by Allie White. BU battled back to tie the set at 23-23 highlighted by three kills from Fountain. PC pulled out the set with consecutive kills by Morgan Moelter.
The Bruins trailed just once in the third set, before opening up an 8-2 lead sparked by a kill by Apel. The Saints never got closer than three points the remainder of the set as BU cruised to the 25-19 win, capped by a service ace from MacKenna Brown and a kill from Athen.
BU used an 8-1 run midway through the fourth set and got six kills from Fountain to earn the four-set victory with the 25-18 win.
