A tough weekend on the court saw No. 11 Berry end its opening two days with a 2-1 overall record after the Vikings fell to No. 7 Calvin, 3-1, before holding off hard-charging Illinois Wesleyan, 3-2, to wrap up play at the Transy Invite in Lexington, Ky., Saturday.
Berry defeated No. 8 Transylvania Friday night in a tough four-set match. With the quick turnaround to Saturday morning's first match, Berry would be slow out of the gates against Calvin, dropping the first set 25-17. The Vikings would bounce right back in the second set, as a late 5-0 run highlighted by kills from
Keira Kruk and
Olivia Mallow gave Berry a 21-12 lead. The Vikings would tally the final three points of the set to win, 25-16.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, the final two sets wouldn't go as well. Berry would hit -.037 over the final two sets as Calvin would take the final frames 25-11 and 25-14.
Bella Boston had seven kills to lead Berry while
Cypress Guenther hit .455 with five kills on 11 swings.
In the day's second match,
Jazzy Innis would catch fire in the final set, knocking down seven kills to help the Vikings earn a 15-10 win in the set and a 3-2 win in the match.
Sophomore
Lura Underwood would convert her first collegiate double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs.
Lindsey MacDiarmid also notched a double-double with 28 assists and a dozen digs.
In the final set, the Vikings led 10-8 before Innis closed out three consecutive rallies with kills to make it 13-8. A service error and a kill for IWU (0-2) made it 13-10, but a service error would give BC its first try at match point. One try would be all it would take as Boston closed out the match with her 10th kill of the afternoon.
The Vikings will be back on the road for the Asics Invitational, hosted by No. 1 Juniata, this Friday and Saturday. Berry starts play with host Juniata Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Huntingdon, Pa.
