PELLA, Iowa (Aug. 30, 2024) - The Buena Vista University volleyball team began its season on Friday night on day one of the Central College / Grinnell College Invite. BVU fell 3-0 in the opener against Rose-Hulman before rallying back to take a 3-1 victory over Westminster (Mo.).

The Beavers tallied 27 kills in the opener against Rose-Hulman led by Jadyn Rausch's eight. She also dished out 14 assists and posted 13 digs. Fifth-year Rachel Brockney added seven kills and chipped in six digs while Mallory Ignaszweski totaled a team-leading 15 digs.

Rose-Hulman used a 5-2 spurt midway through the opening set to push the margin up to 19-13 and despite the Beavers rallying back late to make it 22-18, the effort came up short in a 25-19 setback. BVU held the early 4-2 advantage in the second set before R-H went on a 10-3 surge to go in front at 12-7 and never looked back. After the Beavers clawed their way back within 12-10, Rose-Hulman answered with three straight points. BVU got as close as 18-15 late in the match before eventually falling 25-17.

BVU scored the first three points of the third set and continued to lead 10-8 midway through before Rose-Hulman scored four straight points to go back in front at 12-10. It remained back-and-forth and was tied at 14-14 before R-H rolled off four straight points to gain the lead but was never able to pull away. BVU kept it a two-point match at 20-18 but couldn't get back over the hump as it fell 25-22 to close out the match.

Westminster rallied late in the opening set using a 7-0 run after BVU led 19-13 to grab a 25-22 victory. The Beavers scored nine of the final 11 points of the second set to pull even in the match with a 25-17 triumph. The momentum carried over into the third where BVU broke open an 11-11 tie with a 6-1 surge that put the team in front for good en route to the 25-22 triumph. Clinging to a 6-5 cushion in the fourth set, the Beavers closed the match with a big 9-2 spurt that gave them a 15-7 lead and sent them onto a 25-19 victory.

The team turned it up a notch offensively with 53 kills and a .197 attack percentage. Hope Vanderlinden helped lead that charge with a career-high 15 kills, surpassing her previous best of 13 set last season, and also added four blocks. Brockney followed with nine kills and added three ace serves while Reese Nieuwenhuis had eight kills and five blocks. Rausch dished out 35 assists to go with her 15 digs. Merced Ramirez had a team-high 16 digs while Skylar Needham finished with 10.

Buena Vista is 1-1 on the young season and will return to the court on Saturday morning on the Grinnell College campus where it will take on St. Mary's University (MN) at 10 a.m. followed by a match against Bethany Lutheran College at noon.