Box Score
NSAA Tournament Site
BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Sierra Athen and Jacki Apel combined for 20 kills to lead top-seeded Bellevue University to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-20) victory over No. 8-seeded Waldorf University Tuesday night in the opening round of the North Star Athletic Association Volleyball Tournament being played at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The Bruins improved to 15-4 on the season and will host No. 4 Dakota State University next Tuesday, April 6 at 7 p.m. in the NSAA Tournament semifinals. Dakota State defeated No. 5 Dickinson State, 3-0, Tuesday night in Madison, S.D.
Waldorf ended the season with a 4-15 record.
Athen recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 10 digs. Apel finished with nine kills on .571 hitting while adding a pair of blocks.
Sienna Black collected seven kills on .600 hitting and produced three blocks.
Olivia Galas directed the BU offense to a .281 hitting percentage, dishing out 28 assists to go along with six kills, three digs, and a service ace.
The Warriors were paced by Kenzie Kidd's 12 kills and six digs. Trinity Perez led the WU defense with nine digs.
Athen and Apel blasted six kills apiece in the opening set as BU raced out to a 10-2 lead. WU never got closer than six points the remainder of the frame as the Bruins grabbed a 1-0 lead with the 25-17 first-set victory.
The Bruins hit a blistering .419 in the opening set while holding the Warriors to a .222 attacking clip.
Apel posted three kills on five errorless swings in the second set and BU also got a pair of kills from Galas and Athen. The Warriors hit just .026 in the second stanza and BU used a 9-1 run midway through the set before cruising to the 25-15 victory.
After trailing 13-6 in the third, Waldorf battled back with a seven-point run to tie the contest at 13-13. The two teams traded the next 10 points before BU closed the game on a 7-2 run to complete the sweep with the 25-20 victory.
