LOUISVILLE, Ky.—To the casual fan, Bellarmine's 3-0 sweep of North Alabama on Saturday in Knights Hall may look like a blowout, but nothing could be further from the truth.
 
The Knights fought tooth and nail, pulling out three gritty set victories in claiming the sweep by the narrowest of margins:  26-24, 25-23, 25-23.
 
After the match, Bellarmine Coach Rick Nold held a stat sheet in his hand and had a smile on his face.  The Knights' hitting percentage was circled at the bottom the page—and with good reason. The Knights turned in a season-best attack percentage of .312, and on a night where the margin of victory was so small, that could have been the difference between winning and losing. At the very least it put a smith on the coach's face.
 
What the stat sheet didn't necessarily illustrate was the fight and determination Bellarmine showed in each set.  In the opener, the Knights trailed most of the way and didn't take their first lead until 21-20 then fought off the Lions to claim a 26-24 win.
 
In the second set, the tables turned, and Bellarmine led from the outset. However, while the Lions roared back to tie the score on several occasions—including at 23-23, the Knights never trailed while getting the final two points of the set for the win.
 
The third set followed a similar script to the second with Bellarmine enjoying the lead the entire game only to have to fight off another UNA comeback attempt.  The Knights led 21-14, and North Alabama closed within a single point at 24-23, but Gabby Brissett hammered home a kill to put the match in the win column for the Knights.
 
The victory was Bellarmine's third in a row at home and improved their record to 5-1 in Knights Hall this year. Overall, Bellarmine improved to 5-11 and 3-1 in Atlantic Sun play.
 
The Bellarmine attack proved to be the biggest difference in today's match with the Knights owning a 52-35 edge in total kills.  Senior Bailey Venard led the way with a match-high 14 kills while hitting .400.  Natalie Bland also reached double-digit kills with 10.
 
Other top performances for the Knights included a double-double by Macie Garrison who doled out 18 assists and came up with 10 digs.  Sophomore Kylie VanHoy also turned in a solid performance both hitting and setting, with eight kills and a team-high 19 assists.  Libero Anna Lococo also had solid numbers with a match-high 12 digs and seven assists.
 
For North Alabama, Anna Katherine Griggs notched 12 kills and hit .364 while Kennedey Johnson recorded 22 assists.  The Lions fall to 10-7 overall and 2-3 in league play.
 
After the success of the recent homestand, the Knights now must hit the road for their next four matches. Next up is a trip to Clarksville, Tennessee for a Friday match at Austin Peay.
 
 
For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow BUKnights on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.