Winston-Salem, NC -- Tonight's season home opener featured the PIU Bruins and the Allen University Fighting Yellow Jackets. This game was a fight for the evenly matched teams but in the end, the Bruins pulled out the win, 3 sets to 1.

In the first set, Kelsey McKinley started the team off with a 7-1 service run and racked up her four aces of the night. Allen started to gain momentum causing Coach Chelsea Jones to call a timeout. The points went back and forth between the Bruins and the Yellow Jackets, but PIU won the set 25-23. It was the tight net play by the middles, Virgilla Jones and McKinley, and outrageous digs by Cameron Dubuc that kept PIU in the lead.

The Lady Bruins trailed at the beginning of set two, 9-10. Allen University went on a six point run to the Bruin's two points. The Bruins dropped the set 25-27. 

Again in set three, the points between each team went back and forth. It was a thunderous block by Cydne Moore that tied the game up, 11-11. The points continued to alternate between teams throughout the set. Hannah Carter's end of the match tip kill allowed the Bruins to grasp the set win, 25-21.

In the fourth set, PIU fell behind the Yellow Jackets, 9-13. Dubuc earned a service ace to tie the game 15-15. Olivia Bullard earned her tenth kill on the night, while McKinley added nine and McKenzie Mastin earned eight. Carter earned herself 36 assists for the match. The Bruins took the fourth and final set 26-24. 

In review of the game, Coach Jones felt "we showed a lot of perseverance last night. We battled through soreness, sickness, and even some pain. We had some unforced errors that caused Allen to rally back into the game, but overall I was proud of our effort."
 
The Bruins will be on the road this Friday at 3 PM against Greensboro College.