LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine University volleyball team shook off a sluggish start and roared past the visiting Cedarville Yellow Jackets 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-14) in an NCAA Division II non-conference match at Knights Hall.

The Knights hit just .216 in the opening set, but got stronger in every set to finish swinging at a .331 clip, led by junior Ashley Jefferson, who rang up 16 kills while hitting .448.  Several Bellarmine hitters had strong nights with Bridget Guinane hitting .524 while picking up 12 kills and freshman Katie Adams hitting .533 and adding nine kills. Margaret Horihan added 13 kills for the Knights.

The Bellarmine defense also had a big night, digging more than 50 percent of Cedarville's 150 attacks on the night. Libero Jordyn Kuchenbrod led the way with 23 digs, and Phoenix Fowler totaled 17 to pace the Knights.

Meanwhile, as Bellarmine's fortunes were on the rise, the Yellow Jackets saw their performance drop.  After hitting .343 in the opening set, Cedarville couldn't break the .200 barrier the rest of the match.

On the night, Bellarmine posted 18 more kills than the Yellow Jackets (64-46) and outdug Cedarville 76-54.

Bellarmine setter Allie Muha was one of the many Knights with a standout effort, recording 52 assists, eight digs and four kills.  In fact Muha's 52 assists were 12 more than the Cedarville team total of 40.

The Yellow Jackets were led by Rachel Krikke, who tied Jefferson for game-high honors in kills with 16.

Bellarmine improves to 10-15 on the season.  Cedarville, who is a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC), falls to 12-13 on the year.

The Knights now return to GLVC play with road games at Missouri S&T and Drury on Friday and Saturday.

BOX SCORE (HTM)