Volleyball wins Top 25 battle with Westmont

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- For the second time this season the No. 22-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team knocked off a ranked team, defeating No. 23 Westmont College 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18) in the Bruins' second match of the 2019 GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic at the Lied Activity Center.

Records:

#22 Bellevue: 7-2
#23 Westmont: 6-2

Recap: #22 Bellevue 3, #23 Westmont 1 (25-22, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18)

BU started strong by taking the first two sets before Westmont found their footing in the third set to avoid the sweep. Bellevue answered by hitting .268 with just four attack errors in the fourth set to finish off the Warriors.

The Bruins out-hit Westmont .242-.141 in the match with four Bruins totaling double-digit kill efforts.

Sierra Athen led the way with 14 kills (.194 hitting) while Coree Lipovsky (13, .400), Andrea Carson (12, .310), and Rosa Reed-Bouley (10, .214) joined her in double figures.

Bellevue played a strong match defensively, as they matched Westmont's dig total with 56, and out-blocked the Warriors 12-9.

Athen led the dig effort with 12 and Nicole Meyer paced the Bruin blockers with a total of seven. Olivia Galas netted a double-double, finishing with 47 assists and 11 digs, and Madi Evans totaled 11 digs in the match.

Cassidy Rea paced the Warriors with 14 kills on .324 hitting and Hali Galloway hit .115 with 10 kills. Lauren Friis led three Westmont players with double-figure kills, finishing with 16. Brooklynn Cheney (13) and Alexa Gatiss (12) both joined her.

Up Next:

Bellevue concludes play at the 2019 GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic tomorrow with a pair of matches against Southwestern Assemblies of God University and Carroll College at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.