Bellevue College volleyball, fresh off of their #3 pre-season ranking in the NWAC TicketSmarter Coaches’ Poll, took three of four matches this weekend in the North Challenge.
The Bulldogs won a pair on Fri. Aug. 23 with a 3-1 win over Mount Hood (25-16, 18-25, 25-19, 25-11) followed by a thrilling five-setter over Columbia Basin (25-16, 23-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-10). In the season opener, Bellevue for the most part cruised to an easy win, dominating at the serve line with 26 aces. The second set found the ‘dogs in a funk with an uncharacteristic -.067 swing percentage on five errors, but bounced back to form with commanding wins in sets three and four. Team Captain Jessi Mahler led the Bulldogs with 11 kills and had five digs. Setter Mandi Nottingham had 15 assists and led BC at the serve line with six aces. Head Coach Jocelyn Lawrence rotated in the entire roster as all 14 players received time on the court in the season opener.
Columbia Basin, ranked just behind Bellevue in the pre-season polls coming in at fifth overall, was returning back to familiar grounds as the Hawks participated in the opening round of the 2023 NWAC playoffs at Courter Family Athletic Pavilion last November. After falling behind 2-1, BC rallied in set four but nearly gave it away after building a commanding 23-14 lead. The ‘dogs committed six errors to let the Hawks back in it at 24-23 before pulling away. The suspenseful fourth set led to the decisive fifth where BC jumped out 9-4 as Mahler paced Bellevue with an ace and a kill for point nine. The ‘dogs were hot in set five with a .471 swing percentage. Mahler and freshman Lexi Echols led BC with 13 kills. Nottingham had 28 assists and also contributed 12 digs defensively and again led the squad with six aces. Annie Goetze had eight kills on only one error.
On Sat. Aug. 24, BC topped fourth-ranked Yakima in a highly-anticipated matchup, 3-1. In the tourney finale, Wenatchee Valley defeated the Bulldogs 3-1. Statistics were not available for the Saturday matches.
Bellevue, 3-1, to start off the year, will head east for a trek through the East Region, playing at Spokane on Tue. Aug. 27, followed by a twin bill on Wed. Aug. 28 at Blue Mountain then at Walla Walla later that night. The trip concludes with a match at Yakima Valley on Thur. Aug. 29.
Last Updated August 24, 2024
