BELLEVUE, Neb. — The eighth-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team hit a season-high .418 as the Bruins extended their winning streak to 10 matches with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-17) sweep over visiting Kansas Wesleyan University Saturday afternoon in non-conference action in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 14-2 on the season. KWU fell to 9-6 overall.
Kealy Kiviniemi (9), Eve Fountain (8), and Sidney Sledge (8) combined for 25 kills to lead the Bruin offense. Savanna Berger and Kenzie Polk both produced six kills, and neither committed a hitting error in the match. Ten Bruins had at least one kill in the sweep.
Ali Butler (11) and Taylan Keefer (10) combined for 21 digs to anchor the BU defense, which limited the Coyotes to a .163 attacking efficiency.
Mila Aiwohi registered 22 assists, six digs, and four service aces in the win. Victoria Runyan added 16 assists, four digs, and a pair of kills.
Kylee Harris and Rylee Serpan paced KWU with 10 kills apiece.
Neither team led by more than two points in the opening frame until BU used a 7-0 run, aided by consecutive kills from Sledge, Chloe Cloud, Fountain, and Kiviniemi, and back-to-back service aces from Mila Aiwohi to gain a 16-9 advantage. The Bruins went on a 6-0 spurt to extend the lead to 23-11 before earning the 25-14 victory.
Bellevue hit .371 in the first set while limiting the Coyotes to a .128 attacking efficiency. Fountain and Kiviniemi both produced four kills in the opening set, while Berger connected on three kills in four swings.
Five straight Bruin points sparked by kills from Cloud, Sledge, and Fountain broke open a tight second set as BU gained an 11-5 edge. A pair of kills by Polk and a service ace by Keefer helped BU push the margin to eight points at 18-10. The Coyotes got as close as five points before Bellevue closed the stanza on a 5-1 run capped by a kill down the line by Fountain to earn the 25-16 win.
The third set featured 12 ties and three lead changes until the Bruins closed the match on a 10-2 run to claim the sweep with the 25-17 victory. The match ended with two straight kills by Aspen Meyer.
The Bruins will head to Jamestown, N.D. on Friday, Sept. 27 for a 6 p.m. Top 10 matchup at No. 3-ranked University of Jamestown.
