LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Celebrating their five-woman senior class on the final day of the 2024 regular season, the Bellarmine University volleyball team left everything on the court, battling to the very last point in a heartbreaking five set loss to Central Arkansas in Knights Hall on Saturday afternoon.
 
Before the match, Bellarmine honored the careers of Ashley Nordmann, Addison Foote, Jayda Harris, Anna Purichia and Mara Perry.
 
With the loss, Bellarmine finishes its season 7-19 overall, 4-12 in ASUN Conference play. With the win, Central Arkansas ends the regular season with a 16-11 record, 13-3 in league action with a trip to the ASUN Conference Tournament on the horizon.
 
 After a back-and-forth start to the opening set, Central Arkansas used a 5-0 run to jump ahead 10-5 early. The Knights answered quickly with a run of their own, scoring four straight points to get back within one, down 10-9, before using a 6-1 run to vault into the lead with a 15-12 lead going into the media timeout. Out of the break, Bellarmine maintained control with a 17-14 lead, but UCA wouldn't go down without a fight, using a 4-0 run to even the score 17-17. From there, the teams traded points back-and-forth until the Knights finally scored the winning point for a 25-21 first set victory. The Sugar Bears came out ready to play in the second set, jumping out to an early 8-2 lead as Bellarmine called a timeout. From there, UCA continued to control the set, holding on to a late, 20-14 lead as BU used its second timeout, ultimately closing out the stanza 25-16. Central Arkansas once again pounced early, going up 6-1 to begin the third set. The Knights, though down, played hard to stay in the set before closing the gap to one with a 4-0 run at 16-15. BU evened the score at 18-18 and finally took its first lead of the set at 20-19 before going on to a 25-20 win to go up 2-1 in the match. Tightly contested to start, UCA once again broke the set open with six-point lead at 11-5 as Bellarmine called a timeout. The Knights got within two 12-10 but the Sugar Bears reopened the game once more, going up five at 18-13. From there, UCA held on to its lead to the end, pulling out a 25-18 win to force a fifth and final set. In the fifth, Bellarmine was able to strike for the first two points before Central Arkansas turned up the heat to take a 6-3 lead. The Knights tied the set at 6-6 but UCA continued to push the pace, retaking the lead and extending it to four at 13-9. Bellarmine continued to battle, evening the score once more, this time at 13-13. From there the teams traded points back-and-forth with neither able to find much of an edge. The Knights held the match point advantage three times late in the stanza before falling 19-17 in their final set of the season.
 
Sophomore Natalie Bland once again did everything she could to push Bellarmine to victory, registering a match-high 30 kills, adding nine digs, three aces, an assist and a block. Her 30 kills mark a new career high. Foote was second in the kill column for the Knights with 11, followed by sophomore Erika Smith with 10. Foote also tallied three digs and three blocks while Smith hit a team-high .400 with a dig and a block. Junior Kylie Van Hoy also set a new career high in the match, recording a match-high 48 assists while contributing seven digs, three kills, a block and an ace. Defensively, Perry led the Knights with 21 digs, adding five assists and an ace while junior Tessa Nauert turned in 14 digs and two aces. At the net, senior Jayda Harris led Bellarmine with four blocks while contributing four kills and an ace. Purichia came to life with crafty kills in key situations for the Knights in her final game while Nordmann urged her teammates on from the broadcast seat.
 
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