CHARLESTON, Ill.—The Bellarmine University volleyball team dropped a pair of close matches on Saturday and finished the season-opening Eastern Illinois tournament with an 0-3 record. A day after a four-set loss to Chicago State, Bellarmine fell in five sets to the host Panthers then took the opening set from IUPUI, before losing in four to the Jaguars.
Bellarmine opens their home season this Friday and Saturday when they host the Bellarmine Invitational, which also will feature George Washington University, South Carolina State and Tennessee State.
The Knights play "GW" at 7 p.m. on Friday, before coming back on Saturday to take on South Carolina State at 12:30 p.m. and Tennessee State at 7 p.m.
BU vs. EIU Match (25-18, 24-26, 25-20, 16-25, 7-15)
In retrospect, the Knights were just two points shy of winning the match in three sets, but Eastern Illinois clawed its way back to eke out a 26-24 set two victory then gained the momentum in set four to pull out a 5-set victory.
The Knights used a solid defensive effort and a balanced offensive attack as Bellarmine pulled away for a 25-18 set one victory highlighted by 12 digs by sophomore libero
Anna Lococo.
In the second game, Bellarmine controlled the scoreboard for the majority of the set, but the host Panthers mounted a late comeback and escaped with a 26-24 win on a service ace by Ella Collins.
In the third set, Bellarmine ran out to a 12-2 advantage only to see Eastern Illinois make another late charge. This time, however, the Knights were able to quell the comeback and hang on for a 25-20 win.
Set four was pretty much all Eastern Illinois as the host Panthers took control early in the set and rolled to a 25-16 victory behind a robust .516 hitting percentage.
Unfortunately for the Knights, EIU carried the momentum into the deciding set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead and cruising to a 15-7 victory as the Panthers swung at a .333 clip in the final frame.
Freshman
Seville Gates turned in another solid effort for the Knights, hitting. 440 and putting down 15 kills. Junior
Jayme Scott tied for team-high honors with 15 kills and turned in her second straight double-double with 11 digs.
Lococo ended the match with a career-high 22 digs for game-high honors. Meanwhile, both Bellarmine setters turned in double-doubles for assists and digs. Senior
Sam Rickert posted 12 of each while junior
Emily Arnold dished out 32 assists with 10 digs.
BU vs. IUPUI Match (25-20, 20-25, 19-25, 19-25)
After taking the opening set, the Knights seemed to run out of gas as IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis) got better with each set.
In the opener, the Knights fell behind in the early going, but erased a four-point deficit to take control of the set and establish a 20-11 advantage. The Jaguars fought back to get within five, but Bellarmine hung on to win 25-20 behind five kills apiece from Gates and
Abbie Stefanon.
The Jaguars held a slim margin for the majority of game two, then got some separation in the waning moments to claim a 25-20 win as IUPUI defense held Bellarmine to a negative hitting percentage.
In game three, Bellarmine jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead, but IUPUI turned the tabled with a quick scoring run to take an 11-10 advantage. From there, the Jaguars never relinquished the lead and pulled away for a 25-19 win as they posted a .244 hitting percentage.
The fourth set was similar to the third as the Jaguars were able to extend a small lead down stretch and capture the match with same 25-19 score.
Gates again led the Knights' offensive attack and was the lone Bellarmine player in double digit kills with 16. Stefanon added nine for the Knights with Arnold collecting 28 assists. The career-high Lococo set for digs against EIU lasted about two hours as the Louisville sophomore bested her 22-dig effort with 25 against IUPUI.
