LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine volleyball team makes its ASUN Conference debut on Friday when the Knights host league newcomer Austin Peay for a 6 p.m. match in Knights Hall.  Bellarmine continues its two-match homestand on Saturday with a 4 p.m. contest with Lipscomb.
 
While Austin Peay is a newcomer to the ASUN, the Governors aren't exactly strangers to Bellarmine.  Located just a few miles from the Kentucky border in Clarksville, Tennessee, Austin Peay visited Knights Hall a year ago as a nonconference foe, leaving with a 3-0 sweep.
 
This year, both the Knights and Governors enter the contest fresh off 3-0 weeks.  While Bellarmine went undefeated at Southern Illinois' Saluki Invitational, Austin Peay duplicated the feat at their own Stacheville Challenge, where they bested North Dakota State, East Tennessee, and UT-Martin.
 
Mikayla Powell of APSU earned tournament "Most Valuable Player" honors and was the ASUN Player of the Week after scoring 4.9 kills per set and an astounding .518 attack percentage for the Govs. Kelsey Mead and Marlayna Bullington joined her on the all-tournament team. Mead set the Govs en route to their impressive offensive weekend, averaging 8.7 assists per set. Bullington notched 3.1 kills and 3.1 digs per set to aid the APSU effort.
 
While SIU didn't hand out any hardware, Bellarmine outside hitter Jayme Scott would have been a strong contender for MVP, registering 55 kills in the three matches to help her stay atop the ASUN in total kills with 196. Her 26 kills against Southern Illinois were just two shy of her career record and her .359 hitting percentage was her second-best on the season. Scott added five service aces to her offensive totals while chipping in 22 digs and three blocks defensively. In addition to leading the ASUN in total kills, her 4.26 kills per set average rank atop the league leaders, and Scott is the only player averaging over four kills per set.
 
Freshman Gabby Brissett also turned in a great tournament at SIU, and she was rewarded with ASUN Freshman of the Week accolades. In the five-set thriller over Southern Illinois, Brissett recorded career highs in both kills (13) and blocks (5). On the week, she averaged 11 kills per match while swinging at a .357 clip.
 
Meanwhile, junior libero Anna Lococo earned an ASUN defensive player of the week nomination after a career-high 28 digs in the come-from-behind win at Southern Illinois. She also went over the 20-dig plateau in a 4-set win over Southeast Missouri State. She enters this week's play ranked second in the league in total digs (198) and fourth in digs per set (4.30).
 
Saturday's opponent, the Bisons of Lipscomb University, will take on Eastern Kentucky on Friday, and they start the weekend 3-8 overall.  However, that record is deceiving because they've played an extremely competitive schedule in the early going.  Six of the Bisons' eight losses have been to ranked opponents or teams receiving votes in the poll.
 
A pair of freshmen have come in and taken leadership roles for Lipscomb this year.  Setter Sophia Hudepohl is averaging 7.83 assists, and Jada DiVita is pacing the hitters with a 2.83 kills per set average.  Top returners for Lipscomb include middle blocker Meg Mersman, a second team All-ASUN selection last year and right side hitter Addi Pelham, who earned a spot on the ASUN All-Freshman Team in 2021.
 
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