LOUISVILLE, Ky.—It's been several years since Bellarmine has had a true in-state rival, but on Saturday afternoon the Knights volleyball team will play an in-state conference rival for the first time since Kentucky Wesleyan left the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2012.
 
With Bellarmine rising to Division I status and joining the ASUN Conference last year, the Knights embarked on new traditions and faced a slew of new foes.  This year, with Eastern Kentucky joining the ASUN, Bellarmine now has a new, in-state team with which to begin a conference rivalry.
 
On Saturday at 1 p.m. in Knights Hall that new rivalry will commence on the volleyball court. The Knights have actually squared off six times previously, but all while Bellarmine was Division II with the most recent match coming in 1990.  Eastern won all six previous meetings.
 
This year, both teams come in with five victories on the season with Bellarmine playing 19 times so far and the Colonels having 21 matches under their belts. Eastern is 3-4 in ASUN contests this year while Bellarmine is 1-6.
 
Saturday's contest will feature three of the ASUN's top "killers."  While Bellarmine's Jayme Scott ranks fifth in the league in kills per set at 3.25, she is tied with EKU's Sarah Mitchell for third in total kills with 231.  The Colonels' Molly Michalak, meanwhile, ranks second in the league with 254 total kills
 
Two of the ASUN's top liberos also will be on display Saturday.  Bellarmine's Anna Lococo is currently third in the league with 309 total digs and a dig per set average of 4.23.  Eastern's Sydney Schoen is tops in the ASUN with 332 total digs and is fifth with a 4.05 digs per set average.
 
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