The Barclay College Bears volleyball team was coming off a tough road tri with MCCC foe Manhattan Christian (Manhattan, Kans.) and NAIA Division II York College (York, Neb.) last Tuesday night when they were back on the road for a pair of weekend conference matches. Friday night they traveled to St. Louis to take on St. Louis Christian College and then on Saturday they  took on Central Christian College of the Bible (Moberly, Mo.).

Friday night, the road weary Bears wasted no time dispatching St. Louis Christian. With a strong defense and a focused attack, the Bears walloped the Soldiers in three straight sets, 25-9, 25-7 and 25-6. The quick victory was the Bears second in the MCCC in as many tries and allowed them to stay relatively fresh for a Saturday afternoon match with CCCB.

Traditionally, head-to-head matches with the Saints of CCCB are extremely competitive for the Bears. Each team never relinquishing a point without a fight. Early on the Saints looked to have a slight advantage playing on their home court, but the Bears closed out the first set convincingly to win 25-20. The second set was a battle as well. After some extremely long rallies, the Bears found themselves in a 20-15 hole. However, head coach Larry Lewis provided the Bears with a spark after a timely motivational timeout. From that juncture, the tide of the set shifted. The Bears used a 10-1 run to fight back and take the second set as well, 25-21. With their confidence booming, the Bears settled into a groove in the third set. They seemed to out-play and out-hustle the Saints to nearly every ball to finish out the set, 25-14, and the match.

“I like the way we fight back when we get behind in points. We stay together and encourage one another,” concluded Lewis following the CCCB match. “You can see the team chemistry getting better the more we play together.”

Tuesday evening, the Bears (3-4, 3-2) will be back at home. They will be playing a tri with Hillsdale Free Will Baptist (Moore, Okla.) and Central Christian College (McPherson, Kans.) starting with the Bears and Hillsdale at 5 pm.