No. 2 seed Bellevue (Neb.) sweeps No. 7 seed Valley City State (N.D.) in Frontier Conference Quarterfinal

November 13, 2025

HELENA, Mont. — No. 2 seed Bellevue (Neb.), ranked No. 6 in the NAIA national poll, relied on a dominant defensive performance at the net and a steady, balanced offense to sweep seventh seed Valley City State (N.D.) 25–17, 25–21, 25–19 in Thursday’s Frontier Conference Quarterfinal at the Carroll College PE Center.

The Bruins (25–3 overall record) finished with 9.0 total blocks, 38 kills, and six service aces, controlling the match from start to finish.

Valley City State put together its best offensive stretches in the second and third sets but could not overcome Bellevue’s blocking pressure and clean ball control, hitting .113 for the match.
 
Set 1 — Bruins surge late (25–17)
Valley City State opened the first set strong, leading 7–3 behind early kills from Emma Lucas, Eden Carrier, and Macy Fridgen. Bellevue quickly countered with a 13–3 run, anchored by Kealy Kiviniemi, Savanna Berger, and Eve Fountain.

Back-to-back service aces from Ali Butler extended the Bruins’ lead to 19–12. Bellevue’s front line then took over—Berger, Kiviniemi, and Chloe Cloud combined for four blocks in the set—to close out the opener.

Bellevue hit .231 while holding VCSU to .071.
 
Set 2 — Bellevue withstands VCSU push (25–21)
Valley City State again started well, jumping ahead 7–4 after blocks by Ellie Lucas and Morgan Freije and a kill from Danielle Hagler.

Bellevue responded with a 7–1 burst, capped by an Eve Fountain service ace and a kill from Kealy Kiviniemi.

VCSU rallied to tie the set at 11–11 and stayed within striking distance thanks to consistent swings from Fridgen and Hagler, along with a JayCee Richter service ace.

The Bruins regained control with three straight points—two kills from Fountain and a block by Chloe Cloud—to go up 21–16. Kiviniemi finished the set with her ninth kill of the match as Bellevue took a 2–0 lead.

Bellevue hit .250 with 13 kills and two aces.
 
Set 3 — Bruins close out strong (25–19)
The third set opened tightly with VCSU building a 4–1 edge behind kills from Fridgen and Hagler. Bellevue responded with a decisive 9–0 run fueled by Audrey Sandfort’s ace, kills from Fountain and Cloud, and disciplined net play from Berger and Kiviniemi.

The Vikings made a late push—cutting the margin to 18–15 after kills from Emma Lucas and Addy Kvilvang—but Bellevue’s block again rose to the moment.

Kiviniemi delivered her 11th kill, and Berger added one more block to seal the sweep.

Bellevue hit .289 in the final frame and posted three more blocks.
 
Team Statistics
Bellevue (Neb.)
  • 38 kills, .260 hitting
  • 6 aces, 8 service errors
  • 9.0 total blocks
  • 43 digs
  • Balanced offense with four players hitting .300+
Top Performers
  • Kealy Kiviniemi: 11 kills, .647; 1 block
  • Eve Fountain: 10 kills, .320; 10 digs; 1 ace
  • Savanna Berger: 6 kills, .333; 4 blocks
  • Chloe Cloud: 5 kills; 3 blocks
  • Mila Aiwohi / Jada Nunn: 33 assists combined
Valley City State
  • 31 kills, .113 hitting
  • 2 aces, 4 service errors
  • 5.0 total blocks
  • 43 digs
Top Performers
  • Macy Fridgen: 9 kills, .190
  • Emma Lucas: 7 kills, .333
  • Danielle Hagler: 4 kills, 1 block
  • Morgan Freije: 4 blocks (2 solo)
  • JayCee Richter / Delani Clarke: 10 digs each
  • Madden Bogenreif: 13 assists; 8 digs
Up Next
With the win, Bellevue advances to the Frontier Conference semifinals.  The Bruins wait for the winner between No. 3 seed MSU-Northern and No. 6 seed Carroll (Mont.) in the final quarterfinal match.

Valley City State concludes its 2025 season at 13–15 overall record.
 

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