LOUISVILLE, Ky.—A career high 21 kills from sophomore Margaret Horihan was not enough as the visiting Maryville Saints pulled out a five-set victory (20-25, 25-22, 25-17, 20-25, 15-9) over Bellarmine this afternoon in a Great Lakes Valley Conference volleyball match in Knights Hall.

The host Knights opened with a flourish, hitting .368 in the first set to take the 25-20 win.  However, the Knights couldn't sustain the momentum as an outstanding defensive effort from the Saints brought the visitors back with victories in the next two sets.  Bellarmine forced a fifth set by capitalizing on a late 7-0 run to win the fourth set 25-20. In the decisive fifth, Maryville turned the tables on the Knights by putting together an 8-2 run to pull ahead 11-4 and essentially seal the match.

It is ironic that a personal kills record was set on a night that was highlighted by outstanding libero play.  Maryville's Ali Lampen was just one shy of her career high with 46 digs tonight, and her counterpart, BU freshman Jordyn Kuchenbrod, bested her previous career high with 33.

Both teams' front lines also had solid defensive efforts with Maryville posting 15 team blocks and the Knights recording nine.

Although Horihan had the best stat line of the night by adding 16 digs and three assisted blocks to her 21 kills, Maryville's Maddie Timmermann was the most effective hitter, swinging for a .394 attack percentage with 15 kills.

The loss marked the seventh time this season that Bellarmine has fallen in five-set matches and dropped the Knights to 10-19 overall and 2-13 in league play. Maryville improves to 12-16, 4-11 GLVC.

Next for the Knights is a down-and-back road trip to the University of Southern Indiana on Tuesday night.  First serve is schedule for 7 p.m. CST (8 p.m. EST).

BOX SCORE (HTM)