LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine volleyball team mounted a valiant comeback only to see their efforts slip away as the visiting St. Joseph's Pumas rallied to pull out a five-set victory over the Knights in a Great Lakes Valley Conference match in Knights Hall.

Bellarmine opened the match by jumping out to a 19-13 advantage, but the Pumas dug in and pulled out a set one victory by the final of 25-22.  The visitors then carried the momentum over to the second set to post a 25-17 win.

After the 10-minute break, the Knights came out and showed resolve by claiming a third set victory 26-24.  Momentum was then clearly on Bellarmine's side as they rolled to a 25-19 win in set four to even the match at two sets apiece.

The Knights opened up a quick 4-2 lead in the decisive fifth set, prompting St. Joe's to call a time out to regroup.  The Pumas did just that and came back to tie the score at four apiece and eventually opened up a three-point lead at 12-9. Again the Knights fought back and tied it at 13-13, but a Bellarmine service error derailed the comeback and a kill by SJC's Lucy Grenda ended the match by giving the Pumas a 15-13 fifth set victory.

The Pumas' Bridget Krasowski, Madyson Anthony and Kate Wagenaar combined for 54 of St. Joseph's 63 kills, while the Knights were led by Ashley Jefferson, Margaret Horihan and  Megan Kimbley who totaled 33 kills.

Bellarmine falls to 9-14 overall while Saint Joseph's improves to 7-14 while both teams now share a 2-8 record in the GLVC.
The Knights return to action Saturday afternoon against Indianapolis in a 3 p.m. match.   

BOX SCORE (HTM)