Bears Rally by Minnesota West to Reach Semifinals

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Dallas College Brookhaven's volleyball team pulled off a thrilling comeback in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III quarterfinals Thursday. The Bears rallied to beat Minnesota West & Technical College 17-25, 25-27, 25-19, 25-16, 15-5 at Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

Brookhaven (17-12) advanced to Friday's 6:30 p.m. semifinals to meet College of DuPage (27-12).

McKenzie Mitchell had 19 kills, 13 digs, three aces and two blocks, while hitting .385. Holland Hickman had 13 kills and nine blocks, and hit .321. Kamryn Mitchell had 10 kills, no errors, and hit .556. Jaylin Holmes had seven kills and two blocks. Mary Amick had six kills, 11 digs and two aces. Brooke Tyler had 52 assists, six kills, 18 digs, three blocks and two aces. Fiona Larsen had 17 digs.

The Bears hit .270 in the first set. They fell behind 12-4 before Kamryn Mitchell's kill. Sadie Krahling gave Minnesota West a 17-7 lead with a kill before Brookhaven ran off four straight points on a kill by Hickman, two more by Amick and an ace from McKenzie Mitchell. Minnesota West (36-5) bumped its lead to 20-11 on another putaway by Krahling. Hickman put down a ball to bring it to 21-14. Brown's kill made it 23-15, and a kill by McKenzie Mitchell had it at 24-17. But Ally Nelson put down the next point to give Minnesota West the opening set.

In the second set, Amick's kill gave the Bears a 16-14 lead. Hickman put down a kill to make it 18-16 before Minnesota West ran off the next five points to take a 21-18 lead. Brookhaven responded with a 4-0 run of its own, capped off by Amick's ace to move the Bears in front 22-21. Kylee Larsen's kill pushed Minnesota West within set point, but McKenzie Mitchell's kill tied it at 24 on the next serve. Tyler had a kill to keep it tied at 25, but Minnesota West won the last two points to take a two-set lead.

Holmes gave the Bears a 17-13 lead in the third set when she sent down a ball to cap a six-point Brookhaven surge. Liana Ramos' ace extended the lead to 20-15. Hickman's kill made it 23-18. A kill by McKenzie Mitchell and Minnesota West error ended the set to pull the Bears within 2-1.

Brookhaven had 16 kills in the third set, and hit .333.

The Bears sprinted to a 14-2 lead in Set 4 when McKenzie Mitchell sent down a ball. Blocks by Carmen Brown and Holmes and a kill by Kamryn Mitchell pushed Brookhaven to an 18-4 lead. Myah Dausel's ace polished off three straight Minnesota West points before Brookhaven ran off three of its own, ending on Holmes' kill to put the Bears ahead 21-7. Minnesota West pulled within 23-13 before an error moved Brookhaven within set point. Minnesota West won the next three points to cut it to 24-16, but Kamryn Mitchell's kill evened the match at two sets apiece.

Brookhaven coasted to a 9-3 start in the fifth set on an ace by Ramos. Hickman's kill pushed the Bears up 12-5. McKenzie Mitchell and Tyler put down the next two balls, and Hickman and Tyler combined on a block to complete the comeback.

The Bears had 10 kills and no errors in the fifth set, hitting .588. Brookhaven hit .252 in the match. Minnesota West hit .131.

Brookhaven outblocked Minnesota West 12-4. 

It was the Bears' third five-set win of the season.

First Round

Brookhaven defeated Hudson Valley Community College in its opening round match 25-15, 25-18, 25-23.

The Bears hit .255, while Hudson Valley (25-1) had a .108 attack percentage.

Hickman had eight kills and no errors in 11 swings for a .727 hitting percentage, and added two blocks for the Bears. Kamryn Mitchell had eight kills, two blocks and hit .333. McKenzie Mitchell had seven kills and an ace. Tyler had 26 assists and two aces. Larsen led the Bears with 11 digs.

Brookhaven took a 15-9 lead in the first set on a kill by McKenzie Mitchell. Brown's block gave the Bears an 18-11 lead. McKenzie Mitchell had an ace to bump it to 22-14. A kill by Amick, an error by Hudson Valley and a kill by Kamryn Mitchell put the first set away.

The Bears hit .333 in the opening set.

Brown banged down a kill to give Brookhaven an 18-13 lead in Set 2. Kamryn Mitchell's kill made it 21-16. Ramos served two aces during a three-point service run to set up set point. Amick put away a kill to close the set three serves later.

In the final set, Holmes pounded a kill to put the Bears on top 14-10. Hudson Valley cut it to 17-15 before Kamryn Mitchell's kill started a run of nine straight sideouts. Hayden LeFever's kill pulled Hudson Valley within 20-18 before McKenzie Mitchell put down a ball from Tyler. Holmes' kill made it 24-21. After an ace by Hudson Valley's Brooke Poutre, the Bears clinched the sweep on the following serve.