SPRINGFIELD, Ill.—The Bellarmine volleyball shrugged off a slow start and rolled to a 3-1 road victory over Illinois Springfield on Thursday night behind several standout performances by freshmen.
Reigning Great Lakes Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week
Jayme Scott continued to post the big numbers that earned her the league recognition. Against the Prairie Stars tonight, the hard-hitting right-handed freshman put down 19 kills while hitting .246 and adding a pair of service aces. She also was effective in the back row, coming up with 15 digs.
Two of her classmates also turned in the top performances of their 18-match collegiate careers.
Ashley Price tallied 15 kills to establish a new career high while swinging at a .370 clip.
Emily Ernst, meanwhile, eclipsed the 20-dig plateau for the first time as a collegiate player, totaling 21 on the night.
The match opened decidedly in favor of the host Prairie Stars as UIS gradually pulled away from the Knights for 25-18 win in the opening set. Illinois Springfield outhit Bellarmine .292 to .081, thanks in large part to committing only two attack errors.
The Knights kick-started their comeback about midway through the second set. The crucial segment came when Bellarmine trailed 15-12 but put together a 5-0 run to take the lead. Although UIS came back to regain the advantage briefly, the Knights closed the set by winning eight of the final 11 points to square the match with a 25-21 set two win.
Game three opened with UIS jumping out to a 3-1 lead, but Bellarmine answered with a quick 5-0 run. The Knights took the lead for good at 7-6 and led by as many as seven points. The Prairie Stars didn't go down easily, however, fighting off three straight set points before Bellarmine finally put them away 25-20.
The fourth set was back and forth in the early going, but after Bellarmine took two straight points to take a 10-8 lead, the Knights maintained the advantage, eventually pulling ahead by eight points at 22-14. Bellarmine then closed out the match with a 25-19 set four victory.
Despite the disparity in the first set, the Knights came back to outhit UIS .210 to .190 as Bellarmine limited the Prairie Stars to just .051 in the third frame. The Knights owned a 63-47 advantage in kills, and with Ernst, Scott,
Kristen O'Toole and
Karleigh Wilson all notching 15 or more digs, Bellarmine outdug UIS 82-78.
O'Toole, a junior, also had one her best setting performances of her career. She handed out 52 assists in just four sets. Meanwhile two of her classmates also put up big numbers with
Abbie Oetting and
Izzie Salameh adding 10 kills apiece.
Bellarmine improves 13-5 overall and 4-2 in league play. The Prairie Stars have now lost two in a row after reeling off seven straight wins and fall to 12-6, 4-2 GLVC.
Next up for the Knights is another stiff challenge as the No. 6 Lewis Flyers visit Knights Hall on Saturday afternoon. Match time is set for 3 p.m.
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