ATLANTA, Ga. - The No. 19 Berry College Vikings volleyball team swept the Southwestern University Pirates 3-0 to advance to the SAA Championship game on Friday evening at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA.
The Vikings wasted little time setting the pace of the game as they took an early 5-1 lead with kills from Madie Whitehead, Ava Brovet and Keira Kruk. The Vikings then kept their foot on the accelerator as they went on a 7-0 run to take a 13-3 lead led by a pair of blocks from Whitehead and Blakely Barnes as well as two service aces from Ailee England. The Vikings would then extend their advantage to as much as 17-6 before the Pirates came to life and closed within four twice. The Vikings would stretch their lead back out to 24-18 with Brovet setting up Whitehead for a big kill. The Pirates didn't give up as they rallied to make it 24-23 but the Vikings held strong as Lura Underwood delivered a huge kill to win the set 25-23 and give the Vikings a 1-0 lead.
The Vikings once again took control early on in the second set as kills from Barnes and Kruk put the Viking up 8-3. The Pirates would rally to tie the game 14-14 but the Vikings answered with a 9-1 run finished off with back to back kills from Barnes and Kruk to give the Vikings a commanding 23-15 lead. Once again though the Pirates didn't let up as they rallied to make it 23-19 but that's as close as the Vikings let them get as they would win 25-20 and take a 2-0 lead.
The Vikings looked to close out the Pirates in the third set but the Pirates started the set with the first point to take their first lead of the game. The Vikings would quickly take the lead back with the teams exchanging points until the Vikings seized control with a 7-1 run led by two aces from Brovet and three more from England to put the Vikings up 13-6. The Vikings would extend their lead to 20-9 with a big block from Cali Armstead and Brovet. The Pirates tried to rally but the Viking shut down any chance of that as Kruk delivered two more kills to seal a 25-15 set win and a 3-0 sweep.
Underwood broke the season record for aces as she is now up to 60 on the season while Brovet broke the 1,000 assist mark as she is up to 1,003 in her freshman season. Whitehead led the Vikings with 10 kills, while Barnes led with six blocks and Brovet led with 26 assists.
The Vikings advance to the SAA Championship Game where they will play top seed and No. 8 Trinity on Saturday, November 15 at 12:00 PM.
Â
