ST. LOUIS—The Bellarmine volleyball team started on the slow side but gradually built momentum and finished on a roll as the Knights swept Maryville 3-0 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference match on Saturday afternoon in Moloney Arena.
Hitting just .139 in their 25-20 first set victory, Bellarmine improved to .286 in the second frame to win 25-18. By the third set, the Knights had found their rhythm and turned in an error-free hitting performance with a .344 attack percentage to cruise to a 25-13 win.
Freshman
Abbie Stefanon and junior
Jacquie Hornung posted nine kills apiece to share game-high honors with Maryvlille's Allison Lakin.
Defensively, the Knights had their best blocking match of the year with nine team blocks as
Abbie Oetting assisted on five of the rejections. Bellarmine also owned a 57-51 edge in digs with
Jordyn Kuchenbrod leading the way with 19. Hornung just missed a double-double, adding 14 digs to go with her nine kills.
The victory was a nice rebound for the Knights after losing a four-set match in last night's GLVC opener against Missouri-St. Louis. Bellarmine improves to 7-3 overall this season and moved to 1-1 in league play. Maryville falls to 4-6, 0-2 GLVC.
During the GLVC season, teams usually play on Fridays and Saturdays. However, the conference has included a Tuesday match for the upcoming week, and the Knights will have make the lengthy five-hour midweek trip to face a well-respected Illinois Springfield team.
Bellarmine has a tough start to its conference season as the Knights' first five GLVC contests are on the road. Following the UIS trip on Tuesday, Bellarmine hits the road for two more matches on Friday and Saturday. Friday's opponent is No. 5 Lewis, who improved to 8-2. 2-0 with a sweep of Quincy today, and Bellarmine closes the five-match road swing at Indianapolis on Saturday.
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