LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine volleyball team pulled off a nice comeback to win the first set, but the visiting Missouri S&T Miners rebounded and won three in a row to take the Great Lakes Valley Conference match 3-1 in Knights Hall on Friday night.
The loss snapped a 5-match win streak for the Knights as they fall to 9-4 overall and start 0-1 in conference play. The Miners improve to 11-2 and 1-0 in league play.
The loss also overshadowed a couple of career-best performances. Freshman
Jayme Scott tied her career-high with 19 kills, and libero
Karleigh Wilson established a new career standard with 25 digs.
Bellarmine hit its high point in the first set when the Knights swung at a .262 clip and erased a 17-14 deficit en route to a 26-24 victory. Scott was a force in the opening game, registering nine kills on just 14 swings.
However, the match swung in the Miners' favor in set two when they outhit the Knights .406 to .146 and ran out to a 24-15 lead before finally putting Bellarmine away 25-18.
The momentum followed the Miners into the third set, and the S&T front line controlled the action with seven blocks in the game. The dominant play at the net resulted in a negative hitting percentage for the Knights as the visitors rolled to a 25-15 victory.
Bellarmine stiffened in the fourth set and held a 21-19 lead late in the proceedings, but Missouri S&T closed with a 6-0 run to take the set and the match.
The Missouri S&T defense was formidable, finishing with 12.5 blocks and outdigging the Knights 68-66. Kiernan O'Boyle was particularly tough on Bellarmine, recording two solo blocks and assisting on six more while hitting .292 with 10 kills. Emilee Schlader contributed a double-double to the S&T stat sheet with a team-high 12 kills and 13 digs.
For Bellarmine, Scott's 19 kills represented the only double-figure kill total while setter
Kristen O'Toole had a solid performance with 42 assists, a service ace and six digs.
Bellarmine returns to action on Saturday afternoon as the Knights host Maryville at 3 p.m. The Saints lost in straight sets to Indianapolis on Friday.
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