LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine Knights volleyball team polished off one the best weeks in program history today by sweeping the Rockhurst Hawks 25-20, 25-19, 25-22 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference match in Knights Hall.
It was the first time Bellarmine has posted a home win over the Hawks since Rockhurst joined the GLVC in 2005, and the victory was the third home win of the week for the Knights. Bellarmine took down the University of Indianapolis on Tuesday and Drury University on Friday. The wins over Drury and Rockhurst came at a time when both were the GLVC West Division leaders.
In today's match, the Knights got another rock-solid performance from Rockford, Illinois native
Margaret Horihan. The senior outside hitter rocked Rockhurst with 15 kills and 15 digs—both game highs, while swinging at a .237 clip.
As a team, Bellarmine more than doubled the Hawks' attack percentage, hitting .261 to just .126 for Rockhurst. The Knights' defense also held advantages, coming up with eight more digs and four more blocks than Rockhurst.
Bellarmine took control of the match early and held a 24-14 lead in the first set until the Hawks went on a 6-0 run before the Knights finally secured set point.
The story was similar in the second set as Bellarmine built a comfortable cushion (20-12) and held on for a 6-point victory.
The Hawks, who were ranked in the nation's top 25 earlier in the year, dug their talons in to start the third set, but the Knights never fell behind by more than points. Bellarmine battled back and the final score (25-22) represented the largest margin held by either team.
In addition to Horihan's performance, Bellarmine got great contributions by
Hayden Dailey and
Katie Adams, who both tallied eight kills. Adams was particularly efficient, swinging just 12 times and recording a hitting percentage of .583.
Rockhurst was paced by Alyssa Woodman and Mary Rolf with nine kills apiece while libero Anne Hellwege tied Horihan for match-high honors with 15 digs.
Bellarmine improves to 15-3 on the season and stay tied for second in the GLVC East Division with a 6-3 record. The Hawks drop to 14-5 overall but retain the lead in the West with a 6-3 record after Drury was upset by Southern Indiana this afternoon.
The Knights now get a break from conference play as they travel to Aurora, Illinois to compete in the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament. Pairings for the event have not yet been announced.
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