Bellevue Sweeps VCSU, Volleyball, Sat

(VCSU) The No. 12-ranked Bellevue volleyball team remained undefeated in conference play Saturday afternoon, defeating Valley City State University in three sets.

Bellevue improved to 11-2 overall and is now 9-0 in the NSAA after downing VCSU by set scores of 25-19, 25-22 and 26-24 on Saturday in Valley City.

Valley City State drops to 4-15 overall and 3-7 in conference play.

Sierra Athen and Eve Fountain each tallied 10 kills to lead the Bellevue attack. The Bruins hit .174 as a team Saturday. Olivia Galas tallied 34 assists and five kills, and both Anna Koehler (14) and Athen (13) recorded double-digit digs.

The Vikings featured a balanced attack Saturday led by seven kills from Maara Nelson. Katie Juarez and Caitlyn Fischbach each totaled six kills, and Macey Kvilvang and Clara Wieland each put four balls down for points. VCSU hit .096 as a team.

Kallene Klever totaled 15 assists and five digs, and Jakenda Short had 11 assists and three digs. Libero Dani Schwanke led the defense with 14 digs, and Nelson added 10 digs and two aces.

Both teams totaled eight blocks in the match. Fischbach finished with 2.5 block points for the Vikings, and Bailey Nelson and Wieland each had four block assists. Corey Lipovsky led the Bruins with two solo blocks and two assists.

After Bellevue took the first two sets, Valley City State put together a quick start in set three – opening up a 6-1 lead. Bellevue rallied to take a 13-11 lead, but the Vikings put together an 8-1 run to open up their largest lead of the match at 20-14. The Vikings eventually had a set point at 24-23 before Bellevue scored three straight points to clinch the set and the match.

Up next: Valley City State hosts Mayville State on March 17. Bellevue travels to Viterbo on March 19.