BU sweeps MVC, upends No. 18 CMU in four sets

Missouri Valley Box Score
Central Methodist Box Score

Tournament Website

BELLVUE, Neb. -- The 13th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team won a pair of matches on Friday at the GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic, sweeping Missouri Valley College 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-11) in the opener before outlasting No. 18 Central Methodist 3-1 (25-17, 18-25, 29-27, 25-17) in the nightcap. 

The Bruins improved to 9-1 on the season with the two wins. MVC dropped to 5-2 overall, and CMU fell to 3-3. 

The 3-0 win over MVC marked the Bruins' sixth sweep of the season. 

BU has now defeated three ranked teams in its first 10 contests.  

Bellevue 3, Missouri Valley 0

Five players had at least five kills as the Bruins hit a blistering season-high .413 en route to the 3-0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-11) sweep over MVC. 

Allie Kerns led BU with eight kills on .300 hitting while adding three digs and two service aces. Kealy Kiviniemi had seven kills on 16 errorless swings. She added six digs and a pair of blocks. 

Haley Fleischman hit .667 in the victory with six kills on nine swings while adding two blocks. 

Sidney Sledge and Eve Fountain tallied five kills apiece. 

Mila Aiwohi (26) and Jada Nunn (12) combined for 38 assists while directing the efficient Bruin offense. 

The Bruins finished with a season-high 11 service aces and limited MVC to a .087 hitting percentage in the victory.  

Bellevue 3, Central Methodist 1

Kiviniemi led three Bruins in double figures, finishing with 13 kills on .393 hitting while adding four digs and four blocks. Kerns recorded her first double-double of the season, finishing with 12 kills and 11 digs. She also finished with six blocks. 

Fountain was the third Bruin in double figures, collecting 10 kills along with seven digs. 

Fleischman hit .455 with six kills on 11 swings to go with her five blocks. Chloe Cloud picked up five kills on .308 hitting as well as six blocks. 

Nunn (25) and Aiwohi (22) combined for 47 digs while directing the Bruin offense to a .204 attack percentage. 

Keefer paced the BU defense with 17 digs as BU held the Eagles to a .107 hitting clip. 

Delaney Miller (11) and Callie Henson (10) combined for 21 kills to lead the CMU offense. 

The third frame proved to be the most crucial set of the match as it featured 12 ties and five lead changes. The Bruins had two set points, leading 24-22 following a kill by Kiviniemi and an Eagle attacking error.  CMU tied the set at 24-all after a kill by Miller and a block by Joana Milho and Miller. Another kill by Kiviniemi gave BU its third set point, only to see Miller once again save the set with her fourth kill of the stanza. After trading the next four points, BU ended the set on a kill by Sledge and a hitting error by Sydney Healy, giving BU the dramatic 29-27 victory. 

Serving specialist Kenzie Polk helped break open a tight fourth set with three service aces during a four-point run as BU finished off the match with the 25-17 victory.  

Up Next:

The Bruins will conclude the tournament on Saturday with a 2 p.m. match against (RV) IU-Kokomo.