Women's volleyball claims their seventh-straight NSAA tournament title with win over Bellevue

WATERTOWN, S.D. – The Viterbo Women's Volleyball team (37-1) defeated the Bellevue Bruins in a five-set thriller this afternoon to win their seventh NSAA Tournament Title. The V-Hawks won behind scores of 25-21, 23-25, 24-26, 25-21, and 15-7. 

In set one, both teams battled to begin the match; however, tied at five, the Bruins went on a 5-0 run to create space. Down 19-13, a kill by Miah Garant sparked a little momentum for Viterbo, as they were able to close the gap a bit and make it 19-16. After one side out, a block by Mariah Calkins and Maya Roberts sparked a 4-0 run, making it 22-20 in favor of the V-Hawks. Viterbo would only allow one more point before taking the set, 25-21.

Set two was neck-and-neck the entire way, with neither team leading by more than two points. A Bruin attack error put the V-Hawks up 21-20 late in the set, but the Bruins were able to rally and go on a 5-2 run to close out the set, 23-25.

The two teams were knotted up again in set three. Tied at 21, a kill by Roberts sparked a three-point Viterbo run to go up 24-21. The Bruins were unfazed, however and answered with a five-point run of their own to take the set 26-24.

The Bruins had all of the momentum and started set four with a 11-4 lead. The V-Hawks were able to chip away at the lead and eventually tied the game at 19 with a kill from Calkins. From there, the V-Hawks outscored the Bruins 6-2 and sealed the set with a block from Calkins and Katie Frohmader.

In the decisive set five, a kill from Roberts put the V-Hawks up 4-3. Viterbo was then able to use that momentum to double their score and go up 8-3. That momentum was too much for the Bruins to overcome, and the V-Hawks closed out the set on a Bellevue hitting error, 15-7. 

Roberts led all players with 20 kills, followed by Garant with 11 and Frohmader with 10. Defensively, Calkins led all players with 11 block assists while Reinhart contributed a match-high 33 digs. Abbey Johnson dished out a team-high 34 assists and also collected 14 digs. 

With the win, the Viterbo Women's Volleyball team receives the NSAA's automatic bid to the 2021 NAIA National Tournament. The tournament seeds and matchups will be released by the NAIA on Monday at 10 AM CST.