Bolivar, Mo. – The SBU women's volleyball team split a pair of five-set battles Friday on the opening day of the SBU Invitational, defeating Christian Brothers University before falling to East Central University. The results moved the Bearcats to 5-1 on the season.
The Bearcats began their home schedule with a back-and-forth battle against Christian Brothers, eventually pulling out a 3-2 victory. SBU took the opening set 25-16 before CBU responded with a 25-10 win in the second. The Bearcats battled through extra points to take the third 29-27, but Christian Brothers once again answered, winning the fourth 25-22 to force a deciding set. SBU saved its best offensive performance for the fifth, hitting .429 with 10 kills and only one error to earn the 15-11 victory. That win pushed the Bearcats to a 5-0 record for the first time in over 40 years.
Gabriela Dupree led the Bearcat attack with 20 kills while adding 17 digs and two service aces. Julia Marinesi added 15 kills, 19 digs and two aces for an all-around performance. Allie Hawk directed the offense with 39 assists, while Chloe Chafins led the defensive effort with 26 digs. Kailey Sexton added three blocks as SBU finished with 57 kills in the victory.
They returned to the court later Friday evening against East Central. SBU once again found itself in a five-set match, but this time fell just short in a 3-2 defeat. The Tigers took the opening set 25-23 before SBU responded with consecutive 25-18 and 25-20 victories to take a 2-1 advantage. East Central edged the Bearcats 26-24 in the fourth before taking a tightly contested fifth set 17-15.
Dupree once again paced the Bearcats with 17 kills while recording a team-high 20 digs and three service aces. Freshman Hanna Klein added nine kills, with four of them being in the 5th set, while Sexton finished with eight. SBU was especially strong at the net, recording 15 total blocks compared to 10 for East Central. Natalie Percival led that effort with eight blocks, while Dupree and Sexton each contributed six. Hawk finished with 19 assists and 17 digs, while Danika Mejico added 17 assists.
The loss was SBU's first of the season, moving the Bearcats to 5-1 overall. They will return to action Saturday for the final day of the SBU Invitational, taking on Lane College at 3:00 p.m. before closing the tournament against Arkansas-Monticello at 7:00 p.m. inside the Meyer Sports Center.
