COLUMBIA, Mo. - National American University opened its title defense with a sweep of Bellevue University during pool play action at the NAIA Volleyball National Championship on Wednesday.

The Mavericks won by the scores of 30-28, 30-26 and 30-18.

National American head coach Todd Lowery said his team played decent.

"We started out a little slow, but it was nice to get that first win in the tournament," he added.

Daniela Oliveira went 37-for-44 on the attack with 20 kills. She also added 11 digs, three block assists and a service aces.

Thamy Viana tallied 14 kills, eight digs and one solo and one assisted block, while Thais Batistella added 10 kills, four block assists and an ace.

Amanda Silva led the NAU offense with 42 set assists and also paced the defense with 12 digs. Dalane Sorelli was a force at the net with one solo and six assisted blocks.

For the match, the Mavericks had 51 kills, and four solo and 14 assisted blocks.

Lowery said he didn't play hitter Leslie DaSilva, which could help the team later on in the tournament.

"We didn't have to play DaSilva at all, so that gives her another days rest," Lowery said. "She played in all three matches at the (Region III tournament) and she got quite a bit of swelling. But, she's almost back to normal (now).

"Every day we get by playing without her, it makes us more competitive at the end."

DaSilva is still recovering from knee surgery she had earlier in the year, and Lowery hopes to rest her through pool play.

"That's going to make our chances in the quarterfinals and semifinals a lot better," he noted.

Rachel Muller led Bellevue with 10 kills. Jaclyn Thorson had one solo and five assisted blocks, Candace Clow had 28 assists and Katy Gregory notched 12 digs.

National American, which was ranked 11th in the final NAIA poll but earned the No. 5 seed for the national tournament, improved to 24-10 with the win. The Mavericks wrap up pool play today with a match against the School of Art and Design at 8 a.m. MST and another tilt against Lindenwood at 5 p.m.