The Charger women's volleyball team opened the Siouxland Invite with a pair of victories Friday, rallying past Mayville State 3-1 in their game of the day, before battling back from a two-set deficit to defeat Bethel 3-2. With the two wins, Briar Cliff improves to 3-1 on the season.
Game 1 vs. Mayville State – W, 3-1
Briar Cliff opened the day with a 25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 25-17 victory over the Mayville State Comets. The Chargers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the opening set before the Comets battled back to take a 15-14 advantage. BCU answered by tying the set at 20-20 before scoring five of the final seven points to take the opener 25-22.
The Chargers carried the momentum into the second set, overcoming an early 2-0 deficit to take control. After building a 10-3 lead, BCU continued to extend its advantage and eventually closed out the set 25-17.
Mayville State responded in the third, taking an early 11-4 lead and holding off a late Charger push to claim the set 25-23. Briar Cliff quickly put the match away in the fourth, jumping out to a 5-0 lead and later extending its advantage to 13-1. The Chargers held off a late Comets rally to finish the match 25-17.
Caton Firkins led the Chargers with 10 kills, while
Emma Brenelli added eight and
Alexis Even finished with seven.
Kenzie Rubida and
Brooklyn Voss each recorded six kills.
Reese Strouth led the offense with 20 assists, while
Mia Torchia added 14. Strouth and
Joana Neves each recorded 14 digs, while Torchia added 13. Briar Cliff hit .114 as a team and held Mayville State to a .043 hitting percentage.
Game 2 vs. Bethel – W, 3-2
The Chargers capped the day with a dramatic 3-2 reverse sweep against the Bethel Threshers, falling 25-13 and 25-23 in the opening two sets before storming back to win 25-16, 25-23 and 15-10. The victory moved BCU to 3-1 on the season.
Bethel controlled the opening set building an 11-2 advantage before taking the frame 25-13. The Chargers again faced an uphill battle in the second, trailing 20-15 before battling back to cut the deficit to 23-21. The Threshers held on to take the set 25-23 and move within one set of the victory.
Briar Cliff responded emphatically in the third, taking control early and building a 16-10 lead before cruising to a 25-16 set victory. The Chargers then erased a 20-16 deficit in the fourth, scoring seven of the final 10 points to rally for a 25-23 win and force a decisive fifth set.
In the fifth, BCU jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Bethel answered to tie the set at 5-5. The Chargers regained control from there and finished off the comeback with a 15-10 victory.
Brenelli paced the Chargers with 13 kills, while Voss added eight kills. Even finished with six kills,
Aubrey Hoeft had five and Firkins added four. Torchia recorded 20 assists and Strouth added 11.
Ireland Jackson led the defensive effort with 15 digs, while Neves contributed 12. Voss finished with five total blocks, including one solo block and four block assists, while
Aliyah Basham added six total blocks.
The Chargers return to action Saturday at the Siouxland Invitational taking on Bismarck State at 2 p.m. and Haskell Indian Nations at 4 p.m.
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