DAVENPORT, Iowa — Bruin pin hitters Kealy Kiviniemi (15), Eve Fountain (11), Aspen Meyer (9), and Sidney Sledge (8) combined for 43 kills to power the eighth-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-19, 27-25) victory over No. 14-ranked Park (Mo.) University Friday afternoon at the St. Ambrose Invitational, which is being played at the Lee Lohman Arena on the SAU campus.
The Bruins improved to 9-2 on the season with the win. Park fell to 8-3 overall.
Kiviniemi led the Bruins with 15 kills on .324 hitting while adding three digs and a block.
Fountain produced her fourth double-double of the season with 11 kills and a career-high 29 digs. Meyer finished with nine kills, four digs, and three blocks. Sledge chipped in with eight kills on .333 hitting.
Defensively, the Bruins were paced by Taylan Keefer‘s 30 digs as BU registered 96 digs in the victory. Chloe Cloud collected a match-high six blocks.
Mila Aiwohi (26) and Victoria Runyan (16) combined for 42 assists while directing the BU offense to a .191 hitting efficiency.
The Pirates were led by Grecia Ung’s 17 kills and 23 digs.
The Bruins raced out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set and led by as many as five following back-to-back Pirate attacking errors, giving BU an 8-3 advantage. After Park got to within a point following a kill by Grecia Ung, BU went on a 4-0 run sparked by kills from Kiviniemi, Savanna Berger, and Meyer to give the Bruins a 17-12 edge. Three kills by Fountain and an ace by Mila Aiwohi sparked a 6-3 run to close the set as the Bruins secured the 25-18 first-set victory. Fountain (5), Kiviniemi (4), and Meyer (3) combined for 12 kills to pace the Bruin offense in the opening frame.
Park took advantage of six early BU attacking errors and a service error to grab a 10-6 lead in the second stanza. The Bruins climbed back to within two at 12-10 following back-to-back kills by Meyer. After two straight Pirate blocks and a kill by Avery Caskey gave Park a 16-12 lead, BU answered with three straight points of their own to make it 16-15. The Pirates ended the set on a 9-4 spurt to even the match at 1-1 with the 25-19 win.
Neither team led by more than two points early in the third frame until BU went on a 4-0 run to take a 14-9 lead following a kill by Mila Aiwohi, forcing a Pirate timeout. The Bruins extended the margin to nine points (20-11) following another 4-0 run, capped by a kill from Meyer. After three straight Park kills, BU called a timeout at 21-15. The two teams traded points for the remainder of the set as BU took the third, 25-19.
After the Bruins used a 7-1 run early in the fourth set to surge ahead 12-7, Park countered with a 5-1 spurt to pull to within one at 13-12. Two PU attacking errors, a kill by Kiviniemi, and an ace by Fountain helped BU regain the momentum at 18-12. Following two straight Park hitting errors to give BU a six-point lead (20-14), the Pirates reeled off five consecutive points to make it a one-point contest at 20-19. Kills by Maria Pimm and Ung and an attack error by Meyer gave Park a 23-21 edge. After BU scored three straight, the Pirates saved a match point following a hitting miscue by Fountain. The Bruins saved a match point with a kill by Sledge to make it 25-all. BU won the match after a bad set by Julia Alvarez, and a block by Fountain and Cloud on Pim gave the Bruins the dramatic 27-25 victory.
Bellevue will continue action at the tournament on Saturday (Sept. 14) with a 10 a.m. contest against Judson (Ill.) and a noon matchup with host school St. Ambrose.
