Women's Volleyball goes 1-3 at the BU Classic

OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Brescia University women's volleyball team competed in the 2024 BU Classic this past weekend where they finished 1-3. On day one, the first loss came against conference rival, Oakland City, in a close matchup. The Bearcats were able to even up the day in the 3-0 set win against Wilberforce. Day two featured a five-set battle against UHSP that resulted in a close loss. The final game of the Classic came against Bethel (TN) in a four-set decision decided by the visiting Wildcats. The Bearcats extend their record to 1-8 on the season following a tough weekend.

Match 1: Oakland City 3 Bearcats 0

In this RSC preview match, the Bearcats came within reach of the lead against the conference rivals as they drop the match with scores of 25-22, 25-23, and 25-20. BU had the Mighty Oaks on the ropes in set one, but ultimately relinquished the lead following a service and ball handling error. In set two, the Bearcats played from behind and were never able to catch up to Oakland City. Set three showed some promise as BU made two late runs at the lead but fell short in the final set.

Match 2: Bearcats 3 Wilberforce 0

The Bearcats got a much-needed confidence booster in match two against the Bulldogs, a first-year program. Everybody got a touch in this event as the Bearcats sweep in three with scores of, 25-15, 25-12, and 25-11.

Match 3: UHSP 3 Bearcats 2

This was the first of two exciting matches for the Bearcats on day two of the Classic. Unfortunately, the Eutectics won in five sets with scores of 20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 19-25, and 15-11. The Bearcats started off well in set one as they come away with the win, 25-20. The Eutectics showed how well they battle back as they evened up the set score with their set two and three wins. With the Bearcats at risk for dropping the match, they proved they could fight as they kept the match alive with a set four victory. It all came down to a fifth set to determine the winner. The Bearcats held a 10-7 lead in the fifth, but struggled with service errors as UHSP took the set and the match.

Match 4: Bethel (TN) 3 Bearcats 1

The fourth and final match of the weekend for the Bearcats was a tough battle against the Mid-South opponent in the Wildcats. The Bearcats kept it close with scores of, 26-28, 25-20, 20-25, and 21-25. In the first set, the Wildcats jumped out to a 10-3 lead and the Bearcats came storming back to tie it up at 26. An attack error ended the comeback as Bethel took set one. BU continued the momentum into set two as they pulled away late in the set to take the win, 25-20. Bethel fired right back in set three as they grab their second set of the match, 25-20. The Bearcats fought hard to stay in the fourth set but ran out of steam late to take the 25-21 set loss.

Callie Mason was the Bearcat's attack leader with 56 kills on the weekend as Jasmin Jones followed with 37. Cheaney Archer had a career high of 36 assists in the Bethel match to add to her total of 107 assists. The transfer libero, Campbell McBride had a surreal weekend with a total of 89 digs including a career best of 32 in the Bethel match to rank her in the top 15 of digs in a single match in program history (since digital stats started in 2003).

The Bearcats will get a much-needed break before they head to Campbellsville, KY to take on the Tigers of Campbellsville on Wednesday, Sep. 4.