DANVILLE, Ky. - The Berry Vikings Volleyball team took down the Sewanee Tigers in the first round of the SAA Tournament in a five set thriller this evening.
Berry was backed by senior and first team All-SAA honoree
Bella Boston with a new career high, 24 kills. Time and time again the four-year player showed she was unwilling to go home! Aiding in her offensive efforts, two more Vikings also found double-doubles tonight -
Keira Kruk (10 kills, 21 digs) and
Lura Underwood (13 kills, 13 digs).
Sets one and two did not play into the number two teams' favor, Berry. Sewanee came to play tonight, even after only winning four regular season games, they laid it all on the court in a win or go home game.
With the target on the Vikings' back after being the reigning SAA Champion, everyone is aiming to take them down and the Tigers came close with two wins in the first and second at 25-21 and 26-24.
Fighting from behind, like they have a few times this year, Berry refused to give up and fought until the very end. Set three is where things turned around and the Vikings found their footing, defeating the Tigers in a demanding 25-14 decision. Berry went up early 12-4 with a five point and six point run that dug a huge hole for the underdog that they were unable to overcome.
Six kills from Boston led set four in a close 25-23 victory to tie the game at two and push for a fifth set. The back and forth game continued in the fourth with big plays coming from both sides with 13 ties throughout the set.
Now it was time for Berry to complete the "reverse sweep" and take set five to advance in the 2024 Southern Athletic Association Championship. With neither team willing to give up, this set went to a staggering 22-20 final. Exhaustion was the last option and as the Vikings were down 9-5, three errors from the Tigers and a kill from Boston assisted by
Lindsey MacDiarmid (who had 47 assists on the night), Berry was right back in on the mix at 10-10.
A race to plus two ensued and as the crowd was on their feet, Berry finally captured the win.
The Vikings advance to the semifinals tomorrow against Hendrix College at 6:30 PM ET in Danville, Kentucky. The winner of this matchup will place themselves in the SAA Championship on Sunday.Â
