Needing just one more kill to reach a significant milestone in her college career, senioroutside hitter Regan Bruggeman made her approach, swung, and watched as the ballhit the ground. Her teammates instantly joined in her celebration, knowing she had justachieved a milestone she had always dreamed of reaching.
In the Benedictine College volleyball team’s match against Ottawa on Saturday,Bruggeman recorded her 1000th career kill. A “kill” is an attack that directly results in apoint for the attacking team.
The milestone moment came in the first set on Bruggeman’s first attempt of the game,raising the energy the team would need to secure the win in five sets.
Reflecting on this moment, Bruggeman expressed gratitude for her teammates and themotivation that they bring to the gym every day. She said, “I definitely could not havedone it without the team always pushing me to be better, and I am very excited for thestart of conference play.”
Bruggeman has played an important role in the success of the program since herfreshman season, earning Heart of America All-Conference third team honors twice.This season, she already has 132 kills in 14 matches played, averaging 2.54 kills perset.As a captain, her leadership on and off the court has built a stronger sense ofcommunity, translating into the team’s achievements this season. Building individualrelationships with each of her teammates has been her favorite part of playing volleyballin college.
“I have loved the relationships Benedictine volleyball has brought me. The energy ofgamedays with the team is unmatched,” said Bruggeman.
Looking forward, Bruggeman and the team have high goals. Coming off a season inwhich they qualified for the national tournament for the first time in program history, theteam is looking to continue the momentum and build off their successes.“I am focused on being a consistent team player and we have high team goals ofreturning to the national tournament again this year,” said Bruggeman.
The Ravens will be back in action at home during family weekend on Friday, September27, against Baker. They look to extend their overall record to 12-3 and their conferencerecord to 3-0. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium on thecampus of Benedictine College.