Season Preview: Young Bruins primed for 2019 season

The 2019 Bellevue University women's volleyball team will be one of the youngest squads in the program's 41-year history, but also one of the most talented. The Bruins boast a program-high 18 players on the 2019 roster, with no seniors, one junior, 10 sophomores, and seven freshmen.

Bellevue, under 14th-year head coach Trish Siedlik, returns five starters and nine letter-winners from last season's squad that finished with a 23-12 overall record and an 11-3 mark in the NSAA, qualifying for the NAIA National Tournament for the 11th time in school history.

Siedlik said this year's squad is ready to take that next step and advance beyond pool play at the National Tournament, taking this program somewhere it has never gone before.

"This time of year is always an evaluation time," said Siedlik. "What do we have coming back? Who came in ready? Well, this year is different. This team showed up ready and for a big change. The goals that have been set are achievable. With this being the largest squad since I've been here, it is competitive from top to bottom. We can't wait for Bruin fans to see what this team is going to do!"

The Bruins are ranked No. 22 in the NAIA Pre-Season Poll released on Aug. 13. They are one of two NSAA schools ranked in the Preseason Poll, with Viterbo checking in at the preseason No. 5-ranked school.

Defending National Champion Park University was chosen first, collecting all 18 votes. They are followed by Columbia College, Grand View University, and Missouri Baptist University in the 2-4 spots.

Earlier this week, Bellevue was tabbed to finish second by the North Star Athletic Association coaches in the NSAA Pre-Season Poll. Four-time defending champion Viterbo was picked to win the league title for the fifth-consecutive season. 

The following is a breakdown by position:

Outside Hitters
Second team all-NSAA outside hitter Andrea Carson (Ord, Neb./Ord HS) returns as the only upperclassmen on the 2019 roster. Carson, a junior, ranked second on the team and fourth in the conference last season with 360 kills, appearing in all 35 matches. She also tallied 121 digs and 22 blocks in 2018.

Sophomore Sierra Athen (Red Oak, Iowa/Red Oak HS) led the 2018 Bruins and the NSAA last season with 412 kills. She was second on the second with 302 digs and tired for third with 17 service aces. Athen was second on the squad during her freshman campaign with 10 double-doubles. Look for Athen to be used as a six-rotation outside.

Freshman Paige Holdsworth (Omaha, Neb./Millard North HS) will battle Carson and Athen for a starting spot on the outside after helping lead her Millard North High School squad to a pair of Nebraska Class A state championships. She earned all-Metro Conference and Class A all-state honors in 2018. Holdsworth was second on the team with 272 kills and 348 digs.

Kloe Ruth (Rising City, Neb./David City Aquinas HS) will add valuable depth on the outside. She was a four-year letterwinner at David City Aquinas High School, while earning honorable mention all-state honors as well as all-conference accolades during her senior campaign. The 5-10 freshman may also see time in the middle and the right side.

Middle Hitters
The Bruins return all three middle blockers from a season ago, in sophomores Coree Lipovsky (Fairfield, Neb./Sandy Creek HS), Rosa Reed-Bouley (Omaha, Neb./Gross Catholic HS), and Sienna Black (Treynor, Iowa/Treynor HS). Reed-Bouley will most likely be moved to the right side for the 2019 campaign.

Lipovsky led the 2018 Bruins with 0.91 blocks per set and was second with 105 total blocks and a .247 hitting percentage. She recorded 182 kills on the season.

Black, who made valuable strides during the spring off-season, appeared in 25 matches with three starts during her freshman campaign. She finished the season with 33 kills, 43 blocks, and eight digs.

At 6-1, freshman Nicole Meyer (Elmwood, Neb./Elmwood-Murdock HS) could see significant playing time during her rookie season. She earned honorable mention all-state honors in 2018 and was a two-time all-conference honoree. Meyer finished her senior season with 220 kills, a .273 hitting percentage, and 53 total blocks.

Like Reed-Bouley, freshman Brooklyn Hundt (Underwood, Iowa/Tri-Center HS), could see time in both the middle and right side. Hundt was a two-time all-conference and third team all-state performer during her senior season, leading Tri-Center HS to an appearance in the Iowa State Tournament (Class 2A). She led the conference in blocks (67), attack efficiency (.377), and serving efficiency (.955) while ranking 15th in the state in total kills with 339.

Rightside Hitters

Reed-Bouley, who started 33 matches as a freshman, will likely be moved to the right side in 2019. She finished fourth on the team last season with 223 kills and was third with 93 total blocks and a .230 attack percentage.

Sophomore Payton Fehringer (Greenwood Village, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) received extensive playing time in the spring off-season and will be in contention for a starting spot on the right side. The 5-9 lefty appeared in 12 matches as a freshman, finishing the season with 20 kills, nine digs, and two blocks.

Freshman Paige Hays (Glenwood, Iowa/Glenwood HS) will be trained on both the middle and right side during her rookie season. Hays helped lead her Glenwood HS team to a third-round appearance in the Iowa Class 4A Regionals for the first time in school history. She was named to the KMALand All-Star Volleyball Team in 2018.

Setters

Sophomore setter Olivia Galas (Bellevue, Neb./Omaha Gross HS) returns after an impressive freshman season in 2018. She earned honorable mention NAIA All-American honors, while also being named he AVCA North Central Region Freshman of the Year, first-team all-Region, first-team all-NSAA, NSAA Newcomer of the Year, and NSAA Setter of the Year. Galas was named the NSAA Setter of the Week on six occasions and was also named the NAIA National Setter of the Week on Oct. 2. Galas led the team and the conference with 1,395 assists and was second on the team with 22 service aces and third with 287 digs while leading the team with 11 double-doubles.

Freshman Riley Burcham (Georgetown, Texas/Gateway College Prep HS) will battle for immediate playing time after playing club volleyball for Austin Juniors last season. She helped lead her Gateway College Prep squad to its first-ever bi-district match in school history in 2018, while earning first-team all-district honors and leading her team with 563 assists and 99 service aces.

Defensive Specialists

The Bruins boast four sophomores and one freshman who will all be vying for playing time as defensive specialists during the 2019 campaign.

Sophomore Madi Evans (Omaha, Neb./Millard North HS) started every match at libero in 2018, earning first-team all-NSAA honors while leading the Bruins with 621 digs, which ranked 13th I school history. She earned honorable mention all-North Central Region honors and was second on the team with 96 assists.

Sophomore Sidney Craig (Harlan, Iowa/Harlan HS) appeared in all 35 matches as a freshman with 29 starts. She was fifth on the team with 244 digs and tied for third with 17 service aces. Evans and Craig traded time at the libero position during the spring off-season.

Sophomore transfer MacKenna Brown (Maple Lake, Minn./Anoka-Ramsey CC/Maple Lake HS) earned second-team Minnesota Collegiate Athletic Conference honors last season while leading Anoka-Ramsey CC with 183 assists and 139 digs.

Machaela Puck (Bennington, Neb./Chadron State/Bennington HS) is a sophomore transfer from NCAA Division II Chadron State College. She participated in four matches for the Eagles last season, helping CSC to an 8-19 overall record and a 6-12 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Freshman Jacey Klassen (Hampton, Neb./Hampton HS) will redshirt the 2019 season after suffering an ACL injury during the high school basketball season last spring. Klassen was a two-time all-state honorable mention selection and a first-team all-conference pick at Hampton HS. She finished her high school career ranked fifth in school history in kills and tied the school record with 10 service aces in a match.

The Schedule

The 2019 schedule features 10 matches from teams that qualified for the 2018 NAIA National Tournament. The Bruins will have 12 home matches this season, highlighted by the 24-team GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic being hosted by the Bruins at the Lied Activity Center in Bellevue.

Bellevue will open the 2019 campaign in West Palm Beach, Fla. for four matches at the Keiser University Tournament. BU will follow that up with three matches against top-15 opponents at the Bill Marshall Classic in Hastings, Neb.

After hosting the GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic, BU will travel south to take on College of the Ozarks and nationally-ranked Central Methodist.

The Bruins will begin conference play in mid-September on the road at Mayville State. Sandwiched in between 14 NSAA contests, will be non-conference tilts with Doane, Peru State, and College of St. Mary.

BU will take a break from conference action on Oct. 11 when they travel to Des Moines, Iowa for the Grand View Tournament with match-ups against John Brown and perennial top-20 opponent Montana Tech.

For the first time in conference history, the NSAA Tournament will be hosted at a neutral site with the top six teams in the regular season standings advancing to the Tournament in Watertown, S.D. at the Civic Center. The winner of the NSAA Tournament will earn an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship which begins on Nov. 23 with Opening Round matches taking place at campus sites.

The NAIA National Tournament final site will once again take place in Sioux City, Iowa at the Tyson Events Center on Dec. 3-7.