LAWRENCE, Kan.—The Bellarmine Knights fell in four sets to the New Hampshire Wildcats to close out their play in the Jayhawk Classic on Saturday at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena at the University of Kansas.
 
Today's match was a tightly contested affair with the teams splitting the first two sets by the same score of 25-23.  New Hampshire took the third set 25-21 before the Knights stormed back and saw a late lead disappear in the fourth set as the Wildcats clawed out a 26-24 victory to close out the match.
 
"New Hampshire has a really good team, and I was proud to see how we battled after a tough day yesterday," said Bellarmine Coach Rick Nold. "We just needed to be more organized at the finish to extend the match and have a chance for the win."
 
Team statistics reflect how close the match was. The Knights actually had six more kills (50-44) and held a 56-51 advantage in digs.  The Wildcats had one more block, but the major difference came in the service game.  Bellarmine was aggressive in that area, chalking up 11 aces but also committing 14 service errors while New Hampshire and three fewer aces but also seven fewer errors.
 
Bellarmine freshman Natalie Bland turned in a solid effort, notching her third career double-double with 12 kills while hitting .300 and coming up with 13 digs.  Mara Perry also recorded a double-double for the Knights with team-highs of 19 assists and 16 digs.  
 
Other top producers for BU were Bailey Venard and MaryAnn O'Toole with 10 and nine kills respectively.  Morgan Caba, meanwhile, registered a career-high fives aces in the match.
 
New Hampshire, a member of the America East, improved to 8-5 on the season.  Bellarmine fell to 2-10 on the year as the Knights close out their nonconference schedule.
 
Bellarmine opens Atlantic Sun play in the team's next action, which comes Wednesday at Eastern Kentucky University.  The Knights' next home match will be Saturday, Sept. 23 when they host Queens University of Charlotte.
 
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow BUKnights on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.