FORT MYERS, Fl. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team ended the road portion of its 2024 season on Saturday night, dropping a 3-0 contest against Florida Gulf Coast at Alico Arena.
 
With the loss, the Knights move to 6-18 on the year, 3-11 in ASUN conference action. With the win, FGCU improves to 22-4 overall, 13-1 in league play.
 
In the opening set, the Eagles jumped out to an early 7-4 lead, thanks to a 3-0 run. Bellarmine answered immediately though, using a 5-0 run to vault into the lead 9-7 as Florida Gulf Coast called a timeout. FGCU came out of the break refocused, scoring three straight points to retake the lead 10-9. From there, the stanza went back-and-forth as the teams jockeyed for position. Tied 13-13, the Eagles ripped off three consecutive points to go up 16-13 as Bellarmine used its first timeout. From there, Florida Gulf Coast controlled the set, going on to win the opening frame 25-17. The Eagles carried its momentum into the second set, taking an early 7-3 lead as BU called a timeout. FGCU extended its lead to 9-3 out of the break, but a 4-1 rally by Bellarmine got the Knights back within two, down 9-11 as FGCU used a timeout. Out of the break, the Eagles continued to push the pace, scoring four of the first six points. FGCU continued to control the pace, leading 18-14 as Bellarmine called its second timeout before finishing out the set with a 3-0 run to take a 25-17 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. The Eagles picked up right where they left off coming out of the intermission, taking an early 11-5 lead. The Knights didn't give in however, climbing back to within three at 17-14. Bellarmine stayed within striking distance from there, using a late three-point push to make things interesting at 24-20, but ultimately fell 25-20 in the final set.
 
 Fifth-year senior Addison Foote led the Knights with seven kills in the match, hitting .308 with two digs and a block. Sophomore Natalie Bland tallied six kills in the match, adding four digs, an assist and a block while fellow sophomore Erika Smith and senior Jayda Harris recorded five kills each. Smith also contributed a block while Harris added three blocks and hit a team-high .444. Junior Kylie Van Hoy paced the offense with 24 assists, adding four kills, two digs and a block. Grad student Mara Perry led the defensive effort with nine digs while registering a team-high three aces in addition to two assists. Freshman Payton Parsons contributed seven digs in the match.
 
Up next, Bellarmine will return home for its final two matches of the season, hosting North Alabama on Thursday, November 14 and Central Arkansas on Saturday, November 16.
 
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