Bowling Green, Kentucky — Blue Mountain Christian University volleyball opened play at the Vette City Classic on Friday, splitting two matches. The Volley Toppers swept Kentucky Christian in their first match before losing to Campbellsville in five sets, according to school officials.
In the opening match, BMCU dominated Kentucky Christian, winning 25-12, 25-16 and 25-10. The team hit .372 overall with 40 kills and just eight errors. They also served 13 aces and limited Kentucky Christian to three aces. Salice Speed led the attack with 11 kills and a .409 hitting percentage. Mattie Hopper added eight kills on 13 attempts without an error, hitting .615. Valeria Velez contributed seven kills and eight aces. Olivia Domino dished out 21 assists, added four aces and six digs. Abbi Williams led defensively with 19 digs.
In their second match of the day, BMCU faced Campbellsville in a five-set battle. The Volley Toppers took the first set 28-26 but lost the next two 25-15 and 25-13. They forced a fifth set with a marathon 34-32 victory in the fourth. Campbellsville edged BMCU 15-12 in the final set to secure the win. Speed led offensively with 18 kills and 12 digs. Marissa Gerleman tallied 14 kills with a .440 hitting percentage and six blocks. Williams had a match-high 29 digs and eight assists. Brenyn Wilbanks and Olivia Domino split setting duties with 19 assists each. Overall, BMCU finished with 51 kills, 48 assists, 89 digs and nine blocks in the match.
The team will return Saturday for two more matches, beginning against Tennessee Wesleyan at 9 a.m. followed by a contest against the University of Pikeville at 2 p.m., officials said.
