Bruins fall to Pioneers on Senior Day
Beth Walker notched another double-double and Victoria Bowens finished with 11 digs
BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University volleyball team lost to MidAmerica Nazarene University, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. MNU won by scores of 30-28, 27-25, 25-19.
The match got off to a thrilling start with extra serves in the opening set. Both sides had multiple set point opportunities to grab a 1-0 lead in the match and it was MNU that ultimately prevailed by a score of 30-28. Both sides hit well with the Pioneers attacking at .300 to Bellevue's rate of .255.
Despite the tough loss in the first set Bellevue didn't get down, responding with a strong second set before falling in heart-breaking fashion again, 27-25. This came despite BU out-hitting the Pioneers for the vast majority of the set but MNU came up with the points when they needed them.
The third set saw MidAmerica Nazarene play their best volleyball of the afternoon, hitting .256 with just four attack errors while holding Bellevue to an .095 mark hitting. The end result was a 25-19 victory to the Pioneers who won four the fourth straight match against the Bruins.
Senior Beth Walker recorded her 10th straight double-double against NAIA opposition. She finished the afternoon with 30 assists and 11 digs while adding seven kills to help the offensive effort. Classmate Victoria Bowens matched her 11 digs and added three assists.
Freshman Shayla Scanlan continued her good work on the attack, finishing with nine kills and no errors for a hitting percentage of .310. In her last two matches she has 25 kills and one error and is hitting .408.
Sophomore Mikaylah Gillespie led the Bruins with 12 kills on the afternoon while sophomore Rachel Wald chipped in nine on a .304 hitting effort. Defensively, sophomore Taylor Holz paced BU with 17 digs while Gillespie and Scanlan co-led with three total blocks apiece.
MNU out-hit Bellevue .275-.185 while holding edges in both digs (64-59) and blocks (12-9) as well.
The match was the final regular season home contest in the careers of seniors Beth Walker and Victoria Bowens who were both honored following the match.
Bellevue (20-15) is off until Thursday, Oct. 29 when they travel to La Crosse, Wis. for a 7 p.m. North Star match against No. 7 Viterbo.
