Blue Mountain Christian Volleyball Battles Through Day Two of Vette City Classic
Bowling Green, Kentucky — Blue Mountain Christian University volleyball wrapped up its appearance at the Vette City Classic on Saturday. The team played two matches, including a five-set battle against Tennessee Wesleyan and a three-set loss to Pikeville.
The Volley Toppers opened the day with their second five-set match in as many days, falling to Tennessee Wesleyan 3-2. BMCU won the first set 25-22, holding the Bulldogs to a .000 hitting percentage. Tennessee Wesleyan responded with a 25-20 win in the second set and edged BMCU 26-24 in the third. The Volley Toppers forced a fourth set with a 25-19 victory, but the Bulldogs closed out the match with a 15-8 win in the fifth, hitting .409 in the decisive set.
Blue Mountain Christian posted solid numbers across the board. They out-hit Tennessee Wesleyan .219 to .178 and held a 9-5 blocks advantage. Salice Speed led the team with 18 kills, four aces, and 17 digs. Marissa Gerleman contributed 16 kills and seven blocks. Elle Clayton added eight kills, while Mattie Hopper and Gerleman each recorded seven blocks. Sydney Tague dished out 24 assists, and Brenyn Wilbanks contributed 21. Defensively, Abbi Williams had a match-high 38 digs.
Later Saturday, BMCU faced Pikeville in the tournament’s final match. The Bears won in three sets, 25-12, 25-22, 25-15. The Volley Toppers responded strongly in the second set, hitting .333 with 15 kills and just three errors. Pikeville edged BMCU in the third set to close out the match. Gerleman led offensively with eight kills, while Valeria Velez and Hopper added six and five, respectively. Olivia Domino recorded 21 assists, and Lillie Pate served two aces. Defensive efforts included eight digs from Williams and two blocks each from Olivia Lewis and Gerleman.
Blue Mountain Christian concluded its weekend at the Vette City Classic with four matches over two days. The team showed resilience and strong play throughout, despite the losses.
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