Women's Volleyball | 3/5/2021 9:11:00 PM

Box Score WAVERLY, Iowa (March 5, 2021) - The Buena Vista volleyball team got things started inside of Levick Arena with a thrilling 31-29 victory in the opening set at Wartburg on Friday night, but the Knights seized control after that en route to a 3-1 American Rivers Conference victory.

Wartburg led 20-15 in the first set before the Beavers rallied late by scoring five of the next six points to get within 21-20 and after Wartburg pushed the lead to 24-22, BVU rolled off three straight to grab a 25-24 advantage.  The Knights were looking at set-point on three additional instances but BVU had a response each time, including the final three points to go up 1-0 in the match.

BVU scored six consecutive points midway through the second set to take a slim 10-8 lead, but the Knights then rolled off five of the next six to reclaim a 13-11 margin.  After a kill by freshman Rachel Brockney broke the string and keep the Beavers within 13-12, Wartburg scored five straight and later scored the final five of the set to win 25-15.

Wartburg scored the first five points of the third and eventually led 8-1 en route to a 25-20 win in the third set, and after building a 6-1 lead in the fourth, the Knights cruised to a 25-15 victory.

Junior Sydney McLaren led BVU with 13 kills and 12 digs while posting a .200 attack percentage.  Brockney had a team-leading 50 total attacks and followed McLaren with eight kills and eight digs.  Sophomore Taylor Wedemeyer dished out 30 assists and added a capped off her double-double with 18 digs.  Junior Jade Hays led all players with a match-high 27 digs.  

BVU finished the match with a ,114 attack percentage while the Knights posted a .226 percentage despite a .111 in the opening set.

"Of course we would have liked to see this one end differently, but Rosie and I are so unbelievably proud of this team," said BVU head coach Aubrey Havlichek.  "As exciting s it is to get a set off Wartburg for the first time in six seasons, this team is capable of more.  We are trying new things and the girls are running with it.  The grit and determination we saw tonight in bursts will be dangerous when we keep it consistent.  Jade had a huge game for us in the back court, and we are excited to carry the positives from tonight into the second half of the season."

Buena Vista dips to 2-2 overall (2-2 A-R-C) while Wartburg improves to 3-2 overall (3-1 A-R-C).  The Beavers are set to return to the court on Tuesday, March 9, when they travel to Central College for a 7:30 p.m. match.