Bruins sweep Baker, Upset No. 6 Concordia

Baker Box Score
Concordia Box Score

SEWARD, Neb. -- The 12th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team remained undefeated after sweeping Baker University 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-14) and upsetting No. 6 Concordia (Neb.) University 3-2 (25-18, 25-22, 20-25, 21-25, 15-13) Saturday afternoon at the Concordia Triangular in the Freidrich Arena. 

The win over the Bulldogs marked BU's second victory this season over the No. 6-ranked team in the country. 

The Bruins, who improved to 5-0 on the season, will host the 25-team GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic next Thur.-Sat., Sept. 2-4, at the Lied Activity Center in Bellevue. 

Bellevue 3, Baker 0,

After falling behind 8-3 in the opening set, the Bruins dominated the remainder of the match, cruising to the three-set sweep. 

Sierra Athen (8), Jacki Apel (8), and Eve Fountain (7) combined for 23 kills to lead the BU offense which hit at a season-high .341 clip. 

Athen hit .467 in the match while adding two blocks and a pair of assists. Apel recorded a .500 hitting percentage while adding a dig and a block. Fountain collected seven kills with just one error on 11 swings while adding 11 digs. 

Taylan Keefer anchored the BU defense with a match-high 13 digs. She also collected a season-high six assists and a service ace. 

Olivia Galas dished out 27 assists while adding five digs, four kills, and a pair of blocks. 

Sixteen Bruins saw action in the sweep. 

Taylor Kile paced the Wildcat offense with six kills while Grace Wood produced 12 assists. 

Bellevue 3, Concordia 2

After winning the first two sets, Bellevue battled back from 13-11 down in the fifth set to win the final four points of the match to pull out the thrilling five-set victory.

The Bruins used a balanced offense with four players in double figures in kills. Fountain led BU with 18 kills and 12 digs. Athen also recorded a double-double with 15 kills and 17 digs to go along with four assists and a service ace. Apel hit .333 with 15 kills along with five digs and three blocks. 

Freshman Haley Fleishmann was the fourth Bruin in double figures, finishing with 11 kills on .348 hitting along with three blocks and three digs. 

Galas joined Athen and Fountain with a double-double of her own, registering a season-high 56 assists paired with 10 digs and seven kills. 

Gabi Nordaker led CU with 15 kills on .583 hitting. Arleigh Costello added 14 kills and four blocks. Camryn Opfer was the third Bulldog in double figures, recording a double-double with 12 kills and 16 digs. 

Bellevue battled back from an early 6-3 deficit in the decisive fifth set, sparked by a pair of kills from Nicole Meyer to knot the contest at 7-7. After a block by Opfer and Morgan Nibbe gave CU a 13-11 advantage, BU rattled off four consecutive points, capped by back-to-back kills from Fountain to end the contest.