Viterbo sweeps Bruins to earn NSAA Tournament title

Box Score
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WATERTOWN, S.D. -- Led by Kenzie Winker and Grace Rhode, the top-seeded Viterbo University volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) sweep over Bellevue University in the championship match of the North Star Athletic Association Tournament played Saturday afternoon at the Watertown Civic Arena.

Junior middle Haley Fleischman led the Bruins with a season-high 11 kills on a sizzling .625 hitting percentage. She also added three blocks. Eve Fountain notched six kills and 10 digs. Allie Kerns finished with five kills and five blocks. 

Jada Nunn (14) and Mila Aiwohi (11) combined for 25 assists while directing the BU offense to a .086 attacking efficiency. 

Defensively, the Bruins were paced by Taylan Keefer's team-high 17 digs. 

Winker, the NSAA's Player of the Year, recorded a double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs. She also added six blocks. Rhode also collected a double-double, finishing with 10 kills and 11 digs. 

Jada Mitchell hit .364, finishing with nine kills along with a match-high nine blocks. 

The V-Hawk defense was led by Kenidi McCabe's match-high 18 digs.  

Set 1: Viterbo 25, Bellevue 20

The first set featured 10 ties, and neither team could establish control until a 4-0 run fueled by back-to-back kills by Winker gave the V-Hawks a 14-10 lead. The Bruins battled back with three straight points, highlighted by a kill from Fleischman to make it a one-point contest at 14-13. 

A pair of kills by Winker started another 4-0 V-Hawk run to push the margin to 18-13.  

Kills by Fleischman and Kiviniemi and an ace by Kenzie Polk drew the Bruins to within two points at 22-20. 

The V-Hawks ended the set on a 3-0 run capped by a service ace from Mia Quist as VU took the opener, 25-20.  

Fleischman led the Bruins in the opener with five kills on six swings. Winker paced the V-Hawks with four kills, two digs, and two blocks in the first set. 

Set 2: Viterbo 25, Bellevue 22

Neither team led by more than two points in the second frame until a 3-1 VU run gave the V-Hawks a 13-10 advantage midway through the set. 

Back-to-back solo blocks by Morgan Wale pulled the Bruins to within one point at 15-14.

The Bruins used a 4-0 run highlighted by kills from Fleischman and Aiwohi to take a 19-17 lead. Viterbo responded with a 4-1 spurt to grab a 21-20 advantage, forcing a Bruin timeout. 

The two teams traded the next three points until a BU ball handling error and a kill by Winker gave VU two set points at 24-22. A block by Martina McGrath and Winker gave Viterbo the set, 25-22.  

Set 3: Viterbo 25, Bellevue 22

Two kills and a pair of blocks by Mitchell gave VU an early 4-0 lead in the third. Sparked by consecutive kills by Winker, the V-Hawks expanded the margin to five points at 8-3. 

The Bruins battled back with a 4-1 run to pull to within two points at 9-7 after a block by Kerns and Fleischman on Sadie Treptow. 

A 5-2 V-Hawk run pushed the margin to five points at 17-12. BU countered with four straight points after a kill by Fleischman, and three consecutive VU hitting errors cut the deficit to one point at 17-16. 

After VU gained a three-point cushion, the Bruins got kills from Fleischman and Sledge, and a pair of V-Hawks hitting errors helped BU push ahead, 20-19. 

Viterbo responded by winning six of the next eight points to take the set and the match with the 25-22 victory.  

Up Next: 

The Bruins (24-9) will await their post-season fate when the NAIA National Championship qualifiers and NAIA Opening Round pairings are announced on Monday (Nov. 13) at 2 p.m. on the NAIA YouTube Channel. 

Viterbo earned the league's automatic berth, improving to 30-4 on the season. It marked the V-Hawks' ninth-straight NSAA Tournament championship.