Bellevue University Left to Right: Cindy Hendricks, Courtney Hendricks, Trish Siedlik, Glen Hendricks watch as Courtney signs her letter of intent for Bellevue University.

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BELLEVUE - Bellevue University head volleyball coach Trish Siedlik announced today the signing of three area athletes to national letters of intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at Bellevue University beginning in the fall of 2010.

The newest Bruins are 5-10 outside hitter Annie Benson (Springfield, Neb./Springfield-Platteview HS), 5-10 middle blocker/rightside hitter Courtney Hendricks (Omaha, Neb./Millard West HS) and 5-11 outside hitter/middle blocker Ashley Wurdeman (Columbus, Neb./Central CC/Lakeview HS).

OMAHA, Neb. - Four Bruins recorded double figure kill totals as the 14th-ranked Bellevue University volleyball team defeated College of St. Mary 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-17) Tuesday night in Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference action at the Lied Fitness Center.

With the win, the Bruins improved to 17-6 overall and 6-0 in the MCAC. College of St. Mary fell to 9-13 and 2-2 in league play.

Senior outside hitter Rachel Muller recorded her 15th double-double of the season with 14 kills and a team-leading 15 digs.

Junior Jaclyn Thorson led the Bruins with 15 kills on .419 hitting while adding five blocks.

Sophomore Maureen Wardian hit .458 with 13 kills and four blocks.

Sophomore Kali Schnacker was the fourth Bruin in double figures with 10 kills while adding eight digs and two blocks.

Freshman Jordan Broady directed the Bellevue offense to a .247 hitting percentaqe while collecting 47 assists and nine digs.

The Flames hit .270 in the first set, pulling out the 25-23 victory. However, Bellevue held the Flames to negative hitting over the final two frames.

The Bruins will have their longest break of the season, returning to action in six days when they host Briar Cliff at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12 at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.

View SJ Munoz's story and photos at York News-Times

YORK — The York College volleyball team opened their home slate of games with one of the nation’s best in No. 11 Bellevue University.

The Panthers hung around early, but the Bruins took control midway through the first set sweeping the match 25-14, 25-16, 25-9.

COLUMBUS - Central Community College-Columbus is hosting a Raider kickoff at 5 p.m Aug 25 at the Raider Fieldhouse.

There will be free hot dogs and hamburgers for the public, who are encouraged to come and meet the Raider athletic teams. Following the kickoff, there will be a volleyball scrimmage against Bellevue University at 6 p.m.

Bruin head volleyball coach Trish Siedlik announced the signing today of Sydney DeBoer (Seward, Neb./Seward HS) to a national letter of intent to continue her academic and athletic career at Bellevue University beginning in the fall of 2010.

DeBoer, a 5-11 middle blocker, earned first team all-conference honors while leading Seward High School to a third-place finish at the 2009 Nebraska State Volleyball Tournament. She also led the Bluejays to the 2009 District championship and was a member of the all-tournament team at the Columbus Quiznos Classic.

"Sydney is a competitor," said Siedlik. "Seward High School has a tradition of winning. Winning breeds winning and we are glad that Sydney wants to be a part of our program. We will look for her to provide depth to both the middle and possibly rightside positions. Sydney is a smart hitter and possesses a solid block that will help us get back to the National Tournament."

An excellent student, DeBoer was a member of the National Honor Society and co-President of the Seward FFA.

DeBoer joins early signees Meghan Evans, a 5-4 defensive specialist from Omaha Burke High School and Andrea Johnson, a 5-7 setter/defensive specialist, also from Omaha Burke High School.

The 14th-ranked Bruins finished the 2009 season with a 29-10 overall record, a perfect 14-0 MCAC mark and their third-straight appearance in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - The Bellevue University volleyball team battled back from a two-set deficit, rallying in both the third and fourth sets, to force a deciding fifth game, before falling to Morningside College 15-25, 23-25, 25-21, 26-24, 12-15 in the Bruins' final match at the NAIA Volleyball National Championship Thursday night at the Tyson Events Center.

The contest marked the final match of the 2009 season for both teams. Bellevue, ranked No. 16 nationally, concluded the year with a 29-10 overall mark, while Morningside finished at 32-9.

Junior middle blocker Jaclyn Thorson led the Bruins with 13 kills and three blocks.

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BELLEVUE - Bruin head volleyball coach Trish Siedlik announced today the signing of 6-1 rightside hitter Katie Kuntz (Wenatchee, Wash.) (Wenatchee, Wash.) to a letter of intent to continue her academic and athletic careers at Bellevue University beginning in the fall of 2010.

Kuntz, the daughter of Pam and Dean Peer and Eric Kuntz, played one year of basketball at Montana State-Northern University and prior to that competed in basketball at Wenatchee Community College. She will have two years of eligibility in volleyball.

Bellevue University head volleyball coach Trish Siedlik announced today the signing of 5-11 middle blocker Alannah VanGorder (Canon City, Colo./Canon City HS) to a national letter of intent to continue her athletic and academic careers at Bellevue University beginning in the fall of 2010.

Alannah is the daugher of Scott and Norma VanGorder.

A four-sport athlete, VanGorder lettered in volleyball, basketball, tennis and golf at Canon City High School. She was a two-time second team all-conference selection in volleyball under head coach Becky Anderson. VanGorder was named team captain during her senior volleyball campaign.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Amber Ridens and Brooke Marino combined for 35 kills to lead fourth-ranked Concordia (Calif.) University to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-19) sweep over 16th-ranked Bellevue University in pool play action at the NAIA Volleyball National Championship Wednesday night at the Tyson Events Center.

The loss dropped the Bruins to 0-2 in the tournament and to 29-9 overall on the season. Concordia improved to 2-0 in pool play and 30-8 on the year.

Senior Rachel Muller led the Bruins with eight kills and six digs. Sophomore Maureen Wardian added seven kills on .294 hitting. Bellevue was led defensively by senior Gabby Pfannenstiel's 10 digs. Freshman Jordan Broady registered 22 assists and seven digs in the loss.

The opening set featured 11 ties and six lead changes. With the scored knotted at 16, the Eagles went on a 4-0 run highlight by two kills from Ridens, to take a four-point advantage. The Bruins battled back to within one point after a kill from Jaclyn Thorson and a service ace from Pfannenstiel forced an Eagle timeout at 22-21. Concordia closed out the set on a 3-1 run after a Bruin attack error and a pair of kills by Marino.

After an Eagle service error gave Bellevue an early 1-0 lead in the second set, Concordia rolled off four-straight points and never trailed, rolling to the 25-19 win.

Bellevue once again took a 1-0 lead in the final set only to see the Eagles roll off five-straight points, forcing a BU timeout. Bellevue was able to narrow the Concordia advantage to one point (17-16) after a crosscourt kill by Muller. The Eagles then went on an 8-3 spurt to close out the match, 25-19.

The Bruins will conclude pool play on Thursday with an 8 p.m. match against the host school, Morningside College.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Tenth-ranked University of Texas at Brownsville defeated No. 16 Bellevue University 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-20) in the Bruins' opening pool play match Tuesday night at the NAIA Volleyball National Championship at the Tyson Event Center.

With the loss, Bellevue fell to 29-8 on the season while the Scorpions improved to 32-1 overall.

Junior Jaclyn Thorson was the lone Bruin in double figures with 10 kills. Senior Rachel Muller added eight kills and three digs in the loss.