LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine Knights again proved to be a tough out for opponents on their home court, improving to 3-1 in Knights Hall after posting a comeback 3-1 victory over Central Arkansas on Friday evening in an Atlantic Sun Conference match.
Led by
Kylie VanHoy's double-double of 21 kills and 27 assists, the Knights battled back after dropping the opening set 23-25 to win the next three by scores of 30-28, 25-21, and 25-20.
Despite a poor service error to ace ratio in the first two sets, the Knights continued to play hard and outhit the Sugar Bears in all four games, finishing the night with a .255 attack percentage compared to just .173 for UCA.
VanHoy's career-high 21 kills came as she hit .370 with senior outside hitter
Bailey Venard swinging at a .379 clip while recording 14 kills. Joining VanHoy in the double-double department was freshman
Natalie Bland with 11 kills and 16 digs.
On defense,
Anna Lococo continued her solid play with a match-high 22 digs. Also making an impact on defense was
Maddie Hagan, who returned after missing several games with a hand injury. The 6-2 freshman contributed five block assists and the Knights recorded a nine team blocks in the match.
The Sugar Bears got a big effort from Mackenzie Vernon, who notched team-highs with 20 kills and eight assisted blocks.
The Knights return to action on Saturday afternoon hosting North Alabama at 4 p.m. The Lions dropped a four-set match to Eastern Kentucky today.
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