LOUISVILLE, Ky.—For the third consecutive year, the Bellarmine volleyball knocked off a ranked Lewis team in their annual meeting in Knights Hall. 
 
Today, the Flyers came in with a No. 6 national ranking, but the Knights looked like the superior team, sweeping Lewis 25-21, 25-18, 26-24.  Last year, Lewis came in ranked No. 15 and lost in four sets, and two years ago the Flyers carried the No. 1 national ranking when Bellarmine pulled out a five-set victory.
 
Starting today's match, the Flyers looked every bit like the national powerhouse they are, stringing together an early 7-0 run to take a 9-3 lead.  However, Coach Jenni Grzebin's squad didn't panic. Instead, they dug in and slowly pulled themselves within striking distance. A 5-0 Bellarmine run got the Knights to within a point at 13-12, and it was game on from there. After the Flyers upped their lead to three at 17-14, the Knights turned the tables on Lewis by scoring six straight points to take control of the set at 20-17 before eventually winning 25-21.
 
Bellarmine had the upper hand throughout the second set, scoring the first two points and never trailing in the game. The Flyers were able to knot the score at 4-4, but the Knights enjoyed a small lead until they finally got some separation in the latter stages of the game.  Clinging to a 17-16 lead, Bellarmine outscored the Flyers 8-2 the rest of the way to take a 2-0 advantage.
 
The final set was close throughout with neither team owning more than a two-point cushion.  Lewis actually had the first set point at 24-23, but a ball handling error on the Flyers allowed the Knights to square the set at 24 apiece.  Bellarmine freshman Jayme Scott then smashed her 15th kill of the match to set up match point.  Lewis received the Bellarmine serve well, and Colleen Wilhelm had a decent swing, but her attack sailed just beyond the endline to give the match to Bellarmine.
 
Scott led all hitters with her 15 kills and the Louisville native added a career-best 21 digs.  Other top individual performances included Karleigh Wilson's match-leading 22 digs while Kristen O'Toole doled out 37 assists. 
 
Wilhelm paced the Flyers with 14 kills while Jamie Poppen added 20 digs for Lewis.
 
Bellarmine improves to 14-5 on the season and climbs into a four-way tied for third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with a record of 5-2.  Lewis, which dropped its second match in a row, falls to 16-3 overall and is in the group at 5-2 in league play.
 
The Knights' next action will come at the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament in Indianapolis on Friday and Saturday. Opponents (and seedings) have yet to be announced.
 
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