OXFORD, Ohio — The Bellarmine volleyball team dropped both of its Friday matches in Miami University's Best Western Invitational at Millett Hall, falling in straight sets to Marshall in the opener the dropping a 1-3 decision to Middle Tennessee in the second match.
 
"It was definitely a tough day against two really good programs," said Bellarmine Coach Rick Nold. "I was proud of the way we fought, but in the end, we gave them too many in-system situations, and we can't do that against teams of that caliber."

Bellarmine, which falls to 2-3 on the season, returns on Saturday to face the host RedHawks in a 1 p.m. match to close out the event.
 
MATCH 1: BELLARMINE 0, MARSHALL 3 (19-25, 27-29, 24-26)

Despite falling in straight sets, the Knights made it a competitive match by forcing Marshall to play beyond 25 points in two of the three stanzas.  Bellarmine staged a dramatic comeback in the second set, rallying from a 20-24 deficit to earn a set point at 26-25 before the Thundering Herd pulled out the win.
 
Bellarmine senior outside hitter Jayme Scott led all players with 16 kills in the match while classmate Hannah Brown and freshman Kylie VanHoy chipped in eight apiece. Other Bellarmine leaders included Anna Lococo (10 digs) and Macie Garrison (26 assists).  
 
The Knights recorded one more kill than the Thundering Herd, but Marshall owned a 58-47 edge in digs and outhit BU .233 to .190.  Both teams had five blocks, and the Herd owned a slight advantage in the service game, where Bellarmine committed seven errors with just one ace.
 
MATCH 2: BELLARMINE 1, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 3 (25-16, 22-25, 17-25, 19-25)

The Knights jumped out to a promising start against the Blue Raiders, hitting .452 in the opening set to cruise to a 25-16 victory.  However, the Knights couldn't maintain that momentum as Middle Tennessee mounted the comeback by limiting the Bellarmine attack the rest of the way.
 
The Knights saw their hitting percentage drop in each subsequent set and finished the match with a .237 percentage.  The Blue Raiders swung at a .339 clip, and they out-blocked the Knights 10-2.
 
Scott had another strong outing for the Knights with a match-high 19 kills while hitting .364 and adding eight digs.  VanHoy rang up 12 kills to post her first double-digit kill total of her young collegiate career, and Brown added 10 kills for the Knights.  Garrison handed out 36 assists while Lococo led the team with 11 digs.
 
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