STORM LAKE, Iowa (Sept. 21, 2022) - Junior Rachel Brockney powered herself to 14 kills and 10 digs to help lead a balanced offensive attack for the Buena Vista volleyball team as it overcame a tough opening-set loss to visiting Central College on Wednesday night to rally for a 3-1 American Rivers Conference home victory over the Dutch.

The first set was back-and-forth throughout most of it before Central pulled away from a 16-14 lead by scoring four of the next five points to finish the set on a 9-5 run and win 25-19. BVU came right back in the second and used a key 5-0 spurt midway through to build a 14-11 advantage. The Dutch kept things close down the stretch at 23-21 but the Beavers got kills from Brockney and Skylar Cole, respectively, to even the match.

BVU jumped out to a commanding 15-4 lead to start the third set and appeared in control. The Dutch, however, slowly clawed their way back and made things interesting down the stretch. They used a 7-2 run to make it 17-11 before rolling off seven straight to get within 18-17. A kill from Molly McCauley stopped the run and helped spark a 5-1 run that sent the Beavers onto a 25-19 win.

The Beavers matched their high total for the night with 13 kills and had just four errors in the fourth set, as they rolled to a 25-13 victory to close out the match. The set was tied 4-4, but a Central serving error was the start of four straight points for BVU. The Beavers later had four kills during a key 6-0 run that allowed them to break things open at 15-6. From there, the Dutch were unable to get any closer than seven points.

Brockney's double-double was her ninth of the year and second in as many A-R-C matches. Hannah Smith and Taylor Wedemeyer followed with eight kills apiece with Smith adding eight digs and Wedemeyer 32 assists. McCauley chipped in with seven kills which was just one shy of a career-best set this past Saturday, and she also tied her career-high with a pair of ace serves. Molly Bense led the team with 14 digs.

Buena Vista has now won three straight matches on the year and improves to 6-7 overall (1-1 A-R-C). The team will step out of conference play for a non-conference road match at St. Catherine University on Friday, September 23, at 7:00 p.m.