The Charger women's volleyball team closed out the Siouxland Invitational with another pair of victories Saturday, rallying past the Bismarck State Mystics 3-2 before sweeping Haskell 3-0. With the two wins, Briar Cliff improves to 5-1 on the season.
Game 1 vs. Bismarck State – W, 3-2
Briar Cliff opened the day with an exciting 15-25, 26-24, 25-22, 19-25, 16-14 victory over Bismarck State. The Chargers fell behind 9-1 in the opening set before Bismarck State eventually claimed the frame 25-15.
BCU answered in the second, jumping out to a 13-4 lead before the Mystics rallied to tie the set at 24-24. Briar Cliff held its composure, however, scoring the final two points on kills from
Alexis Even and
Ireland Jackson to even the match with a 26-24 victory.
BCU carried the momentum into the third, overcoming an early 9-5 deficit. The Chargers eventually took a 19-13 advantage and held off a late Bismarck State push, closing out the set 25-22.
Bismarck State responded in the fourth, building an early 9-5 lead and eventually pulling away for a 25-19 victory to force a decisive fifth set.
In the fifth, Briar Cliff jumped ahead 5-1 before Bismarck State battled back to tie the set at 10-10. The Chargers answered with a pair of points to take a 12-10 lead, but the Mystics again evened the set at 14-14. BCU finished the comeback in dramatic fashion, getting an attack error from Bismarck State before
Mia Torchia's final point sealed the 16-14 victory.
Aliyah Basham led the Chargers with 11 kills, while Even added 10 and
Aubrey Hoeft recorded nine.
Caton Firkins finished with seven kills, while
Kenzie Rubida added five. Torchia led the offense with 21 assists and
Reese Strouth added 20. Jackson paced the defensive effort with 15 digs, while Torchia added 13. Hoeft recorded four block assists, while Basham added one solo block and three block assists.
Game 2 vs. Haskell – W, 3-0
The Chargers closed out the weekend with a dominant 25-12, 25-19, 25-18 sweep of Haskell. Briar Cliff finished the match with 37 kills while hitting .229 as a team and held Haskell to a .049 hitting percentage.
BCU controlled the opening set from the middle stages, turning a 7-7 tie into a 14-10 advantage before continuing to pull away. The Chargers scored 11 of the final 12 points to close out the opening frame 25-12.
Haskell held an early 5-3 advantage in the second set, but Briar Cliff quickly answered. After tying the set at 8-8, the Chargers took control with a 10-8 lead and later extended the advantage to 21-12. BCU finished the set 25-19.
The Chargers completed the sweep in the third, using a strong start to build an early advantage before closing out the set 25-18.
Hoeft led the Chargers with nine kills while hitting .429 and added four block assists for 13 points.
Kenzie Rubida contributed eight kills, Even had seven and Firkins finished with five. Torchia recorded 19 assists, while
Joana Neves led the defensive effort with 12 digs.
Ayla Richardson added three service aces, while the Chargers finished with 10 block assists and three solo blocks.
The two victories move the Chargers to 5-1 to open the 2026 season, marking their best start since 2020. They return to action Wednesday, August 26
, traveling to Atchison, Kansas to take on Benedictine College. Game time is set for 5 p.m.
#BattleOn
