NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. – Sophomore Emma Brenelli had two double-digit kill performances as the Briar Cliff University volleyball team (3-5) closed out Day 1 of the Siouxland Volleyball Invitational, Friday at CNOS Fieldhouse. The Chargers lost 3-1 to Mayville State (2-2) and 3-1 to Valley City State (3-3).
Mayville State – L, 3-1 (25-21, 26-24, 25-19, 25-17)
In the first set, Briar Cliff got out quick to a 7-3 lead. Mayville State chipped away to tie the set at 10-10.
The Comets went on a 10-4 run to lead 20-14. The Chargers refused to quit. Senior Taryn Nothem blasted the ball off the block to make it 22-21. MSU scored the next three points to take the set.
In the second set, at 5-5, Mayville State went on a run and seemed to have the game sealed up at 23-16. Junior Isabelle Lenz made a nice kill to get the ball rolling.
Nothem served up eight straight points closing off with an ace. That put BCU up 24-23. The Comets managed to get the next three points to go up 2-0.
In the third set, Briar Cliff scored the first three points. MSU then took charge and had a 14-10 lead. Senior Natalie Hughes collected a kill that started a 15-5 run to stay alive.
In the fourth set, Mayville State scored the first six points and never looked back.
For Briar Cliff, Brenelli had 12 kills. Defensively, junior Avery Beller had 30 digs and senior Olivia Corey finished at 17. Freshman Aubrey Hoeft had five block assists.
For Mayville State, Madison McKinnon and Samantha Passa had 14 kills each.
Briar Cliff Head Coach Lindsey Weatherford
“Even though we didn’t come away with the victory, we saw a lot of great things from our team. Our blocking is getting stronger, with Aubrey (Hoeft) having a very strong match. Avery (Beller) was a solid presence in the back row. She is moving well to the ball and was able to pick up a lot of digs right away.”
Valley City State – L, 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-10)
The first set was one of runs. Valley City State jumped out to a 9-3 lead. Brenelli picked up a kill and Hughes served up eight straight points.
That closed a 9-0 burst to put Briar Cliff up 12-9. The Vikings and Chargers went back-and-forth to 21-21. Nothem blasted the ball down the line to start a run of four straight points to take the set.
In the second set, VCSU looked to have things wrapped up with a 17-12 margin. BCU slugged its way back in.
Senior Kiersten Baker and sophomore Aliyah Basham stuffed the hitter to make it 19-18. Valley City State held off Briar Cliff to take the set.
In the third set, the Vikings were on cruise control at 14-9. Lenz broke the cruise control with a massive kill.
That started a 6-2 run to make it 16-15. VCSU scored four in a row to effectively end the set.
In the fourth set, Valley City State jumped out 11-4 to seal the match.
For Briar Cliff, Brenelli had 14 kills and Nothem had 10 kills. Beller had 44 digs while Basham and Baker had four block assists each. Beller’s 44 digs was the first time since 2014 that a Charger had 40+ digs. It was also sixth best in program history.
For Valley City State, Macy Fridgen had 17 kills and Delani Clarke recorded 40 digs.
Weatherford
“Last year we played Valley City State three times with very similar results. This year we were determined to interrupt their flow, which we did right away in set one. Our pin hitters have begun to find consistent ways to score; Taryn (Nothem), Isabelle (Lenz) and Emma (Brenelli). Avery picked up more digs and covered a lot of the court when we needed her to. Olivia (Corey) put her hitters in a position to be successful and played great defense.”
Briar Cliff remains in North Sioux City, S.D., Saturday, Aug. 31 to take on Dickinson State and Cottey. The matches are scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.
Briar Cliff Volleyball drops both matches of Siouxland Invitational Friday
