LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine University volleyball team came up just short in knocking off defending ASUN Conference champion Kennesaw State on Friday night in Knights Hall as the Owls escaped 3-2 (24-26, 16-25, 25-12, 25-21, 15-11) in the league opener for both teams.
 
Bellarmine made a strong opening statement by erasing a 12-19 deficit in the opening set to earn a 26-24 win.  The pivotal moment came when the Knights' Abbie Oetting took the service at 13-19 and led the Knights on a 6-0 run to tie the score at 19.  Neither team led by more than a point until consecutive kills by Oetting and Chrysanthi Stamatiou gave the Knights a 26-24 victory.
 
The second set also was a fairly tight until Bellarmine broke open a 12-12 tie with five straight points and coasted in the for a 25-16 win.
 
After the break, the Owls came back with a vengeance as the match momentum shifted to Kennesaw State when Jessie Cohen took the serve with KSU up 6-7.  She proceeded to lead the Owls on a run that stretched the advantage to 16-6 as Cohen racked up four service aces during that span.  Kennesaw went on to close out the Knights 25-12.
 
In the fourth, Bellarmine stayed withing striking distance and got within two points late in the set, but Kennesaw held on for the 25-21 win.
 
The deciding fifth set saw the Owls break out to a 5-0 lead, and the Knights could get no closer than two points as Kennesaw State completed the comeback with a 15-11 win in set five.
 
Oetting and Stamatiou paced the Bellarmine attack with 12 kills apiece with Oetting posting an attack percentage of .579.  Junior Julia Dailey chipped in 11 kills for the Knights, and setter Sam Rickert recorded her fourth double-double of the year with 35 assists and a match-high 16 digs.  Defensively, Oetting and Hannah Brown helped lead the Knights to a 10-6 advantage in team blocks as both recorded a solo stop and four assisted blocks.
 
The Owls, who were playing their first match of year, got an outstanding effort from senior Lauren Chastang.  The 2019 unanimous First Team All-ASUN player rang up 23 kills to lead all hitters.  Louisville native Emma Schurfranz added 19 kills for Kennesaw State as the visitors owned a 61-51 advantage in kills.
 
Bellarmine, which slips to 1-4 overall, hosts the same Owls team tomorrow at 5 p.m.
 
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