BELLEVUE, Neb. – The Valley City State volleyball team earned a pair of victories and finished 2-1 at the Bellevue Tournament on Friday and Saturday.
The Vikings opened the weekend with a 3-1 victory over Benedictine University Mesa on Friday morning. VCSU captured the opening set, 25-23, before the Redhawks responded with a 25-15 win in the second frame.
VCSU regained control in the third set, recording 16 kills and holding Benedictine Mesa to a .069 hitting percentage in a 25-21 victory. The Vikings closed out the match with 15 kills in the fourth set to secure another 25-21 win.
Madysen Geist led the Viking attack with a match-high 16 kills and a .481 hitting percentage. Kadie Kocka added 12 kills, while Ellie Lucas and Eden Carrier each finished with eight. Gracie Schumacher totaled 21 assists, 10 digs and five service aces, and Madden Bogenreif contributed a team-best 24 assists. Annika Pulju led the defense with 20 digs.
The Vikings returned to the court Friday afternoon and defeated Benedictine College in four sets, 25-16, 21-25, 25-22 and 25-22.
VCSU used a late surge to pull away in the opening set, scoring four of the final five points to earn a 25-16 victory. After the Ravens evened the match in the second set, the Vikings answered by winning two tightly contested frames. VCSU broke a 22-22 tie with three straight points to take the third set before closing the match with another 25-22 victory in the fourth.
Geist once again paced VCSU with 13 kills, while Kocka totaled 12 kills and hit .310. Bjorneby added eight kills, 13 digs and two service aces. Schumacher handed out a team-high 23 assists with 10 digs, while Bogenreif recorded 18 assists and three aces. Pulju finished with a team-best 18 digs.
VCSU concluded the tournament Saturday with a four-set loss to Grand View University, 25-18, 25-21, 22-25 and 25-15.
After dropping the first two sets, the Vikings responded with a strong start in the third frame. VCSU assembled an 8-1 run to build a 14-7 advantage behind kills from Carrier, Lucas and Bjorneby. Grand View pulled within one point late in the set, but VCSU scored three of the final four points to earn a 25-22 victory. Grand View answered by taking the fourth set, 25-15, to secure the match.
Kocka led the Vikings with 13 kills and a .250 hitting percentage. Carrier added eight kills and three blocks, while Bjorneby finished with seven kills, seven digs and two service aces. Schumacher totaled a team-high 18 assists, and Bogenreif recorded 16 assists and 14 digs. Pulju also collected 14 digs.
Kocka led VCSU with 37 kills across the three tournament matches, followed by Geist with 35. Schumacher totaled 62 assists, 29 digs and nine service aces, while Bogenreif added 58 assists and 28 digs. Pulju anchored the Viking defense with 52 digs.
VCSU (2-5) opens Frontier Conference play Wednesday, Sept. 2, at Mayville State University. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
