INDIANAPOLIS—The Bellarmine volleyball split its matches on the final day of the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament today, falling in a marathon, 4-set match to Ashland before closing out the tourney with a sweep of Tiffin.
 
Opening the day with Ashland, the No. 3 seed from the GLIAC, Bellarmine got off to a good start, winning the first set 25-21.  The Eagles squared the match at 1-1 with a 25-20 set two victory. The Knights jumped out to huge 9-2 lead in the third, but Ashland kept chipping away and eventually caught Bellarmine and escaped with a 33-31 win. It was Bellarmine that rallied for a comeback in the fourth frame, but the Eagles held on to claim the match with a 28-26 victory.
 
The Knights finished the match with 12 more kills than Ashland, but Bellarmine also had 13 more attack errors.  Five different Bellarmine players totaled double digit-kills, led by Jayme Scott's 19, and Knights setter Kristen O'Toole set a new career record with 68 assists.
 
Several Knights tied career highs including Scott (19 kills), Julia Dailey (18 kills), Hannah Brown (11 kills) and Karleigh Wilson with 25 digs.
 
In the Knights' tournament finale, Bellarmine met a familiar foe, the Tiffin Dragons.  The teams met earlier this year with Bellarmine pulling off a sweep at Knights Hall.  The results today were similar as Bellarmine notched a 25-21, 27-25, 25-19 victory.
 
Scott and Dailey continued to have the hot hand, registering 18 and 11 kills respectively to lead all hitters. Wilson turned in another solid effort from her libero position, averaging more than seven digs a set with 22 against Tiffin.
 
With the split, Bellarmine moves to 15-7 on the season. 
 
The Knights now return to GLVC play for the remainder of the regular season.  Next up are home matches on Friday and Saturday against McKendree and Southern Indiana.
 
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights) and Facebook (BUKnights).
 
ASHLAND BOX SCORE (HTM)

TIFFIN BOX SCORE (HTM)