AURORA, Ill.—The Bellarmine University volleyball team did its part in helping the Great Lakes Valley Conference come out on top in the Mizuno Midwest Region Crossover Tournament  by going 2-1 after splitting their matches on Saturday.  Bellarmine defeated Lake Superior State in straight sets this morning before falling in four to Northern Michigan University in the final session.

The tournament—the nation's largest in collegiate volleyball—featured teams from three different NCAA Division II conferences from the Midwest.  The GLVC finished with the best record, going 28-20 over the two days.  The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference was an even 24-24 while teams from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference combined to go 2-10.

In this morning's match, Bellarmine took just an hour and nine minutes to dispatch the Lakers  in straight sets 25-14, 25-17, 25-12.  Hayden Dailey led the Knights with a strong service game to go along with 12 kills and eight digs.

The Knights hit .271 for the match while the Lakers' attack percentage was .047.  The Knights front row did a solid job on the block, recording eight in the match with Bridget Guinane helping out on five of those. Abby Schlaug turned in a strong defensive effort, leading the Knights with 10 digs.

In the afternoon session, the Knights jumped to a 1-0 lead after hitting .417 in the opening  set. However, Bellarmine couldn't keep up that torrid pace, and the Wildcats of Northern Michigan heated up to win the next three sets.

Ashley Jefferson led the Bellarmine offensive attack with 11 kills with Dailey adding nine and Margaret Horihan chipping in with eight.  Allie Muha recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 35 assists and 11 digs.

With today's split, Bellarmine now stands at 9-13 on the season. The Knights return to GLVC play this week with home matches against St. Joseph's on Friday and Indianapolis on Saturday.

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