LOUISVILLE, Ky.—It was an epic battle in Knights Hall on Friday evening, and when the dust settled, the visiting Lipscomb Bisons walked away with a 3-2 victory over Bellarmine in Atlantic Sun action.
 
The two combatants traded blows with each team answering the other.  Lipscomb pulled away midway through the first set for a 25-19 win, but the Knights were in control for much of the second and won it by eight points, 25-17. 
 
Set three was a dramatic, 42-minute affair that the Bisons eventually won by a 25-23 count, but in set four, Bellarmine again saw the momentum swing in its favor as the Knights squared the match with a 25-19 victory.
 
In the deciding set, Lipscomb opened with the serve and jumped out to a 5-1 advantage and the Knights never made a serious run as the visitors hung on for a 15-9 win.
 
Despite taking the "L," Bellarmine can look to a lot of positives in the match, including hitting for a season-high .341.  That number was helped enormously by a monster game from senior Bailey Venard, who swung for a season- and match-high 19 kills while hitting .567. 
 
Meanwhile, Kylie VanHoy narrowly missed her second triple-double of the year with 13 kills, 22 assists and nine digs.  Graduate transfer MaryAnn O'Toole turned in her best performance in a Bellarmine uniform recording 12 kills and hitting .379.
 
Defensively, the Knights recorded two more team blocks than the Bisons with Gabby Brissett notching two solo blocks and two assisted blocks. Anna Lococo and Mara Perry led the team with 11 digs apiece.
 
With the win, the Bisons improve to 15-6 overall and maintain a stranglehold on second place in the ASUN standings at 10-1.  In tonight's action, Courtney Jones and Meg Mersman led the way with 15 kills each while Delaney Smith came up with 16 digs to pace the defense.
 
Bellarmine slips to 8-15, 6-5 ASUN.  The Knights are back in action tomorrow at 4 p.m. when they host the Governors of Austin Peay.  Prior to the game, Bellarmine will hold senior day activities to honor Venard, Lococo, O'Toole, Macie Garrison, and Hallie Westmeyer.
 
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