Yesterday afternoon, the volleyball team turned in a familiar result as they swept Kew-Forest, 3-0, but the start was anything but recognizable as the Bears fell behind 4-10 in set one. Perhaps last week’s dominant 25-8, 25-10, 25-15 win over the Jaguars dulled their edge, but whatever the reason, the Blue & White found themselves in an early hole against a pesky visitor.

Each time the Bears looked to make a run, the Jaguars came up with a shot or an uncharacteristic error from our side stalled the comeback. The Bears still trailed 12-15 when they used a four-point spurt, capped by a Lilly Keegan kill, to take their first lead of the match at 16-15. Kew tied it up on the next point, but a Keegan spike gave The Brook a lead they would not relinquish. Sandy Tao followed with an ace before a pair of Keegan aces extended the Bear lead to 23-18, but three straight points pulled the Jaguars back within two, prompting a timeout from the Bears. Out of the break, a Gillian Bernier spike and Ella Middlekauff ace closed the taut first set, 25-21.

The Bears got out to a more patented start in set two as they built a 5-0 lead behind a touch kill and a pair of aces from Niamh Scanlon. The Bears then flexed their muscles during a 6-0 spurt that saw a Bernier kill and ace, a Keegan spike, a McCormick kill and block, and another Keegan spike power The Brook to an 11-1 edge. Three straight Keegan aces, including one off the back line, moved the needle to 21-7 and a Bernier dunk capped the win, 25-10.

The Bears went untested in set three as they again raced out to a quick start, building a 6-0 margin thanks to a Scanlon ace and three powerful kills from Bernier. Three straight kills from Bernier, Keegan, and McCormick pushed the advantage to 9-1 and the Jaguars simply lacked the firepower to close the gap. Keegan emphatically closed the match with three straight kills, one off of a blocker, one inside a blocker, and one off of a Jaguar’s head, to cap the third set, 25-11.

The win gave the Bears a 44th straight league win, a 38th consecutive home win, and a 25th sweep in a row vs. PSAA opponents.

The Bears are back on the court on Thursday when they travel to Heschel for a PSAA match-up.

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