LOUISVILLE, Ky.—For the second straight day, the Bellarmine volleyball team went toe-to-toe with a team out of the BIG EAST, and for the second straight day came up just a little short.

Today, the visiting Butler Bulldogs (1-2) pulled out a five-setter over Bellarmine 18-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 15-7 in Knights Hall.

Bellarmine saw a late lead escape its grasp in the fourth set as the Bulldogs scored the final six points to pull even and force a fifth set.  Butler established an early lead and closed out the Knights 15-7 in final frame.

The loss overshadowed a career-best performance by Bellarmine's Abbie Stefanon, who recorded 16 kills on the day. Defensively, Chrysanthi Stamatiou turned in 15 digs as the Cincinnati transfer tied the career high she established while with the Bearcats. Meanwhile, Bellarmine setter Sam Rickert chalked up her third double-double season with 14 digs to go along with a career-high 50 assists. 

Butler's Brittany Robinson was the main offensive weapon for the Bulldogs, recording a match-high 19 kills with a solid .310 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, Melody Davidson was a force at the net for the Buter defense with two solo blocks and seven assisted blocks.

Statistically, the Knights actually won several battles, "outkilling" the Bulldogs 60-58 and "outdigging" their opponents 69-59.  However, Butler held the edge in the service game where they notched eight aces compared to just five errors while Bellarmine had an even number of aces and errors (5 and 5). Butler also held a slight lead at the net with a 14-12 advantage in team blocks. 

The loss drops Bellarmine to 1-3 on the season and concludes the Knights' non-conference schedule.

Next up for the Knights is another tough battle as Bellarmine makes its ASUN debut against Kennesaw State, the defending conference champions, on Friday.  The Knights also host the Owls on Saturday.  Match times will be 7 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday.