LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Over the past two seasons, Bellarmine has hosted three volleyball teams ranked in the nation's top 15, and on all three occasions, the Knights have come out victorious. The latest Knights Hall upset victim was No. 8 Drury, who the Knights dispatched 3-1 on Friday night.
Coming into the contest, both Great Lakes Valley Conference teams had a full head of steam with each winning six straight matches. Tonight's match played out to the high level that fans may have expected from two teams playing with momentum. The first two sets certainly didn't disappoint with both going beyond 25 points. Bellarmine managed to take the first set 27-25 with the Panthers pulled out a 26-24 decision in set two.
Bellarmine rolled in the third frame, extending its lead to as many as nine before settling for a 25-18 victory, and the Knights closed the match with a 5-2 spurt to take a 25-19 win in set four.
The Knights were simply solid in virtually every phase of the game in pulling off the upset. Bellarmine owned a 60-49 advantage in kills while outdigging the Panthers 75-59. Drury came into the contest one of the top blocking teams in the conference, and although they owned an edge in that department, the Knights kept it close with the Panthers outblocking Bellarmine just 10-9.
The service game was decidedly in the Knights' favor, with Bellarmine unleashing 10 aces to just one for Drury. Bellarmine sophomore
Kristen O'Toole was responsible for half of the Knights's aces with
Sam Rickert and
Abbie Oetting notching two apiece.
While Drury's Immalee Chrest was the match's top hitter with 17 kills, the Knights boasted four players with double digit kills, led by
Bailey Roszman and
Jacquie Hornung with 13 apiece.
Katie Adams added 12 with Oetting recording 11 on just 19 swings.
Bellarmine's setters also had a strong night with O'Toole dishing out 29 assists and Rickert adding 24, which is a career high for the freshman.
The match also featured two of the best liberos in the GLVC, and they lived up to the billing with Drury's Bree Schmidt totaling 22 digs while Bellarmine's
Jordyn Kuchenbrod came up with 26 to move into seventh on the NCAA Division II all-time digs list.
The victory lifted the Knights to 16-8 overall and 7-6 in the GLVC, and the loss dropped the Panthers to 20-4 and 10-2 in the GLVC.
Bellarmine returns to action on Saturday at 2 p.m. when they host Missouri S&T, who swept Southern Indiana on Friday.
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