LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team bounced back in a big way, sweeping Stetson 25-16, 25-23, 25-22 on Sunday afternoon at Knights Hall.
 
With the win the Knights improve to 5-11 on the season, 2-4 in ASUN play while the loss moves Stetson to 3-14 overall and 0-6 in league action.
 
After falling to in-state, conference foe Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday night at home via the sweep, Bellarmine responded in a big way against Stetson. The Knights came out ready to play in the first set, controlling the narrative from start to finish. Stetson scored the first point of the set, but Bellarmine quickly answered and never relinquished the lead, taking the stanza 25-16. In the second set, BU jumped out to an early lead before Stetson tied things up. From there, the teams traded points back-and-forth until the Knights won the race to 15 and entered the media timeout up two. Following the break, Bellarmine continued to maintain control. The Hatters managed to tie things up at 19-19 but Bellarmine would not be denied, ultimately winning set two 25-23. The third set was much more contentious. The Knights once again took an early lead, but it didn't last long as Stetson evened the score 11-11 before taking a 15-14 lead into the media timeout. Out of the break, the Hatters held onto their lead late, up 20-19. Bellarmine would not go down without a fight however, tying things up 20-20. BU finally overtook Stetson 22-21 and never looked back, taking set three 25-22.
 
For the Knights, sophomore Natalie Bland led the way offensively with 18 kills, hitting .306 for the match while adding five digs, a team-high two blocks and an assist. Fellow sophomore Erika Smith was the only other Knight to tally double-digit kills as she recorded 10 while hitting .444 with a block. Senior Anna Purichia and sophomore Maddie Hagan round out Bellarmine's top hitters after tallying eight kills each. Purichia added two assists and three digs to her line while Hagan, who returned to the lineup after missing the last six matches, contributed two digs while hitting .250. Junior Kylie Van Hoy paced the offense with 38 assists, adding seven digs and six kills while hitting .250. Defensively, grad student Mara Perry led the charge with 12 digs while junior Tessa Nauert notched eight.
 
Up next, Bellarmine will hit the road again for another two ASUN conference matches. The Knights will first travel to Carrollton, Ga. for a bout with the league's newest addition in West Georgia on Friday, October 18 at 6 p.m. ET before traveling to Charlotte, N.C. for a match against Queens on Sunday, October 20 at 1 p.m. ET.
 
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