September 22, 2026
BELLEVUE, Neb. — No. 16 Bellevue (Neb.) remained unbeaten in Frontier Conference play Tuesday evening, defeating Dakota State (S.D.) in three straight sets at the BU Fieldhouse. The Bruins won by scores of 25-21, 25-14 and 25-10.
Dakota State fell to 7-6 overall and 4-3 in the Frontier, while Bellevue improved to 11-2 overall and 7-0 in league play.
How it happened
The Trojans produced their best offensive performance of the match in the opening set, collecting 14 kills and hitting .167. Dakota State stayed within striking distance throughout the set after Bellevue built a 14-8 advantage.
DSU responded with a 5-2 scoring run to trim the deficit to 16-13, highlighted by kills from
Emily Nelson,
Macey Wathen and
Sydney Wathen. The Trojans later pulled within one point at 21-20 after M. Wathen's kill and a Bellevue attacking error. The Bruins, however, scored four of the final five points to secure the 25-21 victory.
Dakota State carried its momentum into the beginning of the second set. The Trojans used kills from Nelson,
Kaedyn Sapp and M. Wathen to open a 4-1 advantage. DSU maintained a 7-5 lead before Bellevue answered with six consecutive points to move in front 11-7.
The Bruins gradually extended their advantage, using an efficient offensive attack to pull away. Bellevue registered 15 kills with just two attacking errors on 32 swings for a .406 hitting percentage in the second set. Dakota State finished with 10 kills and seven errors and hit .079 as the Bruins claimed a 25-14 victory.
Bellevue established control early in the third set, jumping to a 3-0 lead. Dakota State cut the deficit to 6-4 following kills by Sapp, but the Bruins responded with five straight points for an 11-4 advantage.
Bellevue later used another seven-point run to stretch its lead from 11-5 to 18-5. The Bruins closed the match with a 25-10 third-set victory, hitting .440 with 13 kills and only two errors on 25 attempts. Dakota State was held to seven kills and a .000 hitting percentage in the final set.
Inside the box score
Dakota State finished with 31 kills and 21 attacking errors on 111 attempts for a .090 hitting percentage. Bellevue totaled 42 kills with just nine errors on 101 swings, hitting .327 for the match. The Bruins also held advantages in service aces (4-0), digs (52-42) and total blocks (8-2).
Nelson and
Macey Wathen shared Dakota State's team lead with eight kills apiece. Wathen committed just two attacking errors on 21 swings for a .286 hitting percentage, while Nelson added nine assists and three digs. Sapp recorded six kills and four digs, while
Sydney Wathen added three kills on four attempts for a .750 hitting percentage and seven digs.
Gabi Borresen paced the Trojan offense with 18 assists and collected nine digs.
Kate VanRooyan tied Borresen for the team lead with nine digs and added two assists.
Lauryn Kloth contributed two block assists.
Bentlee Kollbaum led Bellevue with a match-high 12 kills without an attacking error, hitting .571 on 21 attempts while adding two blocks. Rowyn Scheer added nine kills on 16 swings for a .500 hitting percentage and three block assists. Chloe Cloud finished with six kills on eight attempts (.750) and four block assists.
Ella Eymann and Mila Aiwohi each distributed 18 assists for the Bruins. Zoie Roghair led the match defensively with 16 digs and added a service ace.
Up next
Dakota State looks to return in winning column this weekend as they continue their Frontier Conference play. The Trojans host Valley City State (N.D.) Friday evening at 5 p.m. Pajamas is the theme for the volleyball match.
