Bruins split on opening day against Top-15 foes

ASHLAND, Ore. -- The 14th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball opened the 2024 campaign by splitting a pair of matches against top 15 opponents at the Raider Invitational being played at the Lithia Motors Pavillion on the Southern Oregon University campus. 

The Bruins swept 12th-ranked Corban University, 3-0 (25-23, 33-31, 25-19) in the opener before falling 3-0 to No. 10-ranked Southern Oregon (25-22, 25-8, 25-14) in the nightcap. 

Bellevue (1-1) will conclude the tournament on Saturday (Aug. 17) with a 1 p.m. (CT) match against Simpson University (0-2). 

Bellevue 3, No. 12 Corban 0

Kealy Kiviniemi (13) and Eve Fountain (12) combined for 25 kills to lead the Bruins to the 3-0 season-opening sweep over 12th-ranked Corban. Aspen Meyer added eight kills, and Taylan Keefer paced the BU defense with 16 digs to go along with four assists. 

Mila Aiwohi recorded a double-double with 16 assists and 11 digs while adding a pair of service aces. Victoria Runyan dished out 16 assists and registered eight digs in the sweep. 

The Bruins led the majority of the first frame and used a 3-0 run to close the set, sparked by a kill from Sidney Sledge, and back-to-back aces from Aiwohi as BU grabbed the opener, 25-23. Kiviniemi and Fountain paced BU in the first set with four kills apiece. Chloe Cloud added two kills and a pair of blocks. 

Behind five kills from Kiviniemi, the Bruins raced out to a 14-6 advantage in the second stanza. CU battled back with five straight points, forcing a BU timeout at 14-11. The Warriors added two more points to make it a one-point contest at 14-13, capping the 7-0 run on a kill by Allyson Reid. Two kills each by Sledge and Fountain fueled a 6-2 BU run, giving the Bruins a 23-17 edge in the second. Once again, the Warriors mounted a comeback, scoring six straight to knot the contest at 23-all. After trading the next 16 points, kills by Sledge and Fountain gave BU the marathon 33-31 victory.

Fountain and Kiviniemi each had seven kills in the second frame. 

The Bruins used a 6-1 scoring spurt, including a pair of kills by Meyer and an ace from Keefer, to build a 19-12 advantage in the third set, forcing a Warrior timeout.  CU never got closer than five points the remainder of the set as BU closed out the sweep with a kill by Meyer, making it 25-19.  

No. 10 Southern Oregon 3, Bellevue 0

The Bruins were plagued by 26 attacking errors, hitting -.058, as 10th-ranked host Southern Oregon recorded their second sweep to open the 2024 season. 

Kiviniemi and Fountain recorded five kills each to pace the BU offense. Keefer led the defense with 13 digs. Runyan added 10 assists and seven digs in the loss. 

Hannah Stadstad led all players with nine kills, while Marin Mackey tacked on eight kills, 10 digs, and three blocks. 

Two Bruin errors and a Raider service ace broke open a tie game as SOU surged ahead 18-15 in the opening set. 

BU used a kill by Sledge and a pair of Raider attacking errors to tie the contest at 20-20. After exchanging the next four points, the Raiders used a pair of BU-hitting errors and a kill by Mackey to register the 25-22 victory. 

Neither team could get into a rhythm in the opener as SOU outhit the Bruins .091 to .000. The Raiders won the opening frame despite committing eight hitting errors and five service errors. Aspen Meyer, who left the contest at the end of the first frame, led BU with three kills on .500 hitting in the opener. 

The Raiders raced out to a 5-0 lead to open the second set, and after a pair of kills by Megan Perry, SOU led 9-2, forcing a Bruin timeout. SOU did not slow down after the break, scoring four straight on a service ace by Kayla Neidigh and three straight kills to take a 13-2 advantage. 

A 5-0 SOU run pushed the edge to 15 points at 19-4 as BU used their final timeout of the second frame. Bellevue never got closer than 12 points the remainder of the second as the Raiders cruised to the 25-8 victory, scoring the game's final four points. 

The Bruins took their first lead of the match, scoring the first two points of the third set, and after a kill by Fountain, BU surged ahead 5-2. 

SOU restored order with a 6-0 spurt sparked by consecutive kills from Stadstad as the Raiders gained an 11-7 advantage. Four straight Raider points pushed the margin to six at 18-12 following a kill by Perry. 

The Raiders closed out the match with five straight points to earn the 25-14 victory, completing the sweep.