LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine Knights rose to the challenge in its Atlantic Sun Conference home debut, outlasting the visiting Queens Royals in five sets in Knights Hall on Saturday afternoon.
 
The visitors had taken a two sets to one advantage, but Bellarmine fought back for the victory digging deep to overcome deficits late in the fourth set then turning around the decisive fifth set after surrendering the first four points in the race to 15.
 
"I was really happy with the way we fought back in the fourth and fifth sets," said Bellarmine Coach Rick Nold.  "With the way things have been going, it was nice to see the effort rewarded."
 
The Knights lost the first set in heart-breaking fashion.  After clawing back from a 23-20 deficit, Bellarmine had four set points but couldn't close the deal as Queens eked out a 30-28 victory.
 
The Knights responded by squaring the match with a convincing 25-17 win in set two.  The home team had things going its way in the third set as well, but the Royals closed a strong note.  Trailing 19-16, Queens ended the third on a 9-4 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Again, the Knights had the upper hand for most of the fourth game, but a Queens surge gave the Royals a 22-19 advantage and pulled them within three points of closing out the match. However, this time it was Bellarmine that closed with authority, sending the match to fifth set with a 6-1 run to win the fourth 25-23.
 
In the deciding game, Queens raced out to a 4-0 lead prompting a time out from Nold and the Knights.  The stoppage of play worked out for Bellarmine.  When play resumed, a 4-0 run by the Knights gave BU the momentum.  From that point, the Knights rolled to a 15-9 victory, scoring the match's final five points.
 
While there was no shortage of outstanding offensive performances for the Knights, it was the defensive effort that stood out for Bellarmine.  Senior libero Anna Lococo became just the fifth Knight to amass 1,200 or more career digs, and she did it with a career-best performance of 37 digs.  The Bellarmine block also had a strong performance with 12 team blocks led by five apiece from Kylie VanHoy and Gabby Brissett.
 
On offense, Bellarmine had five different players record double-digit kills, led by Bailey Venard's season-high of 17.  Freshman Natalie Bland added 14 while Brissett, VanHoy and Anna Purichia chipped in 12 apiece.
 
Three different players notched double-doubles for Bellarmine.  Bland added 14 digs to her 14 kills and VanHoy dished out 27 assists to go along with her 12 kills.  Macie Garrison also registered a double-double with 36 assists and 11 digs.
 
For Queens, Jordyn Johnson turned in a big effort with 21 kills and 21 digs.
 
The Knights return to action on Friday when Bellarmine hosts Central Arkansas in a 6 p.m. match.
 
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