NORMAL, Il. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team closed out its first weekend of the season with a difficult day of competition, going 0-2 on the day. In game one, the Knights dropped a 3-1 battle to Illinois State before falling 3-0 to Central Michigan.
 
In their first match against Illinois State, the Knights were their own worst enemy as unforced errors plagued Bellarmine throughout the match. Overall, Bellarmine committed 43 errors in the match, 16 at the service line, 20 on the attack and seven on defense. Individually, BU had three players record double-digit kills, led by sophomore Maddie Hagan with 15. Hagan hit .424 in the match while adding three blocks and two digs. Fellow sophomore Natalie Bland turned in 14 kills and 10 digs, marking her second double-double of the year. Fifth year senior Addison Foote rounded out the Knights' top hitters with 10 kills while junior Kylie Van Hoy recorded 41 assists, tying her career-high set just yesterday, adding 10 digs, three aces and a block as she records her second double-double of the season.
 
Illinois State racked up 58 kills as a team while hitting .264 with five aces and nine blocks. Aida Shadewald led the Redbirds offense, turning in 19 kills and hitting .283. The win marks the first of the season for Illinois State.
 
Match 1 vs. Illinois State
Set 1
Bellarmine once again kicked off the match scoring the first point of the opening set. In similar fashion to yesterday's match, neither team was able to create much separation as things stayed relatively even early on. A well-placed tip by Maddie Hagan got the Knights to 15 points first as the match headed into a media timeout. Bellarmine started rolling out of the break, jumping out to a 21-17 lead, highlighted by back-to-back points from Kylie Van Hoy as Illinois State was forced to call a timeout. The Redbirds settled in out of the break, rallying to get back within two, still down 22-20 as Bellarmine took its first timeout of the set. The Knights scored the first point out of the break, but Illinois State kept attacking, tying the game 23-23 as the Knights called their second timeout. The timeout proved useful as Bellarmine locked in and scored the next two points to take the first set 25-23 and go up 1-0.
 
Set 2
After an early back-and-forth, Illinois State turned up the heat and took a 9-5 lead as the Knights called their first timeout. Bellarmine rallied out of the break and tied the set 10-10 thanks to kills from three different Knights. The Redbirds went on the attack again, surging ahead 16-13, forcing BU to call its second timeout of the set. Bellarmine kept the match in reach for a bit longer, staying within three as the Knights found themselves down 19-16 late. Despite the effort, Bellarmine was unable to make a final push, dropping the second set 25-17.
 
Set 3
The Knights got on top out of the gate, taking a 3-1 lead early. Illinoi State scratched its way back into the set, but Bellarmine continued to hold on to a lead, up 10-6. From there, the Redbirds came alive, rallying to tie the set 12-12 and force BU to call a timeout. Both teams continued to battle but Illinois State was able to find an edge as the Redbirds took an 18-15 lead to force Bellarmine to use its second timeout. The Knights stayed tough, keeping the game within reach down two at 22-20 but we're once again unable to make a final push, falling 25-21 in set three as Illinois State took a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Set 4
Once again, Bellarmine jumped in front early, going up 4-1 to start the set. Illinois State clawed back into the stanza, evening the score 5-5. From there, the set was tightly contested and remained tied at 10-10. The Redbirds finally got in a groove and uncorked its offense, taking a 15-12 lead as Bellarmine took its first timeout of the set. The Knights fought back to get within two, down 17-15 but were forced to call their second timeout as Illinois State extended its lead to 19-15. BU was not yet though as the Knights rallied again, forcing the Redbirds to take a timeout after a 3-0 run got Bellarmine back withing striking distance, down 22-19. The Knights kept pushing the pace, scoring three of four points out of the break to tie the set 23-23 as Illinois State used its second timeout. Both team's kept fighting as the set rolled on but Illinois State would ultimately come out on top, taking advantage of back-to-back errors by Bellarmine to secure the 28-26 set win and a 3-1 win in the match.
 
In their second match of the day, the Knights were never able to get their offense going as they fell to Central Michigan in three straight sets. Errors once again plagued Bellarmine as the Knights committed 39 in total with 24 coming on the attack. Bland and senior Anna Purichia led the Bellarmine offense with four kills each. Junior Tessa Nauert led the defensive effort with 11 digs while freshman Payton Parsons added 10. Van Hoy tallied eight assists in the match with grad student Mara Perry dishing out 8 assists.
 
Central Michigan earned its second win of the weekend while turning in 36 kills, nine aces and eight blocks. Natalia Rejment and Krystina Kasson paced the Chippewas offense with eight kills each.
 
Match 2 vs. Central Michigan
Set 1
As they did in each of the first two games of the weekend, the Knights won the first point of the match before jumping out to an early 3-1 lead. Central Michigan scratched back into the set, evening the score at 5-5 before turning up the heat and taking a 12-7 lead, thanks to two separate 3-0 runs, as Bellarmine called its first timeout. Out of the break, the Chippewas kept the pressure on, scoring four of five points to extend their lead to 16-8 and force Bellarmine to call its second timeout. The Knights scored the first point out of the break, but Central Michigan was on a mission as the Chippewas poured it on, scoring nine of the final 10 points with a 6-0 run at the end of the set to take the first stanza 25-10.
 
Set 2
Set two opened in the same fashion set one closed, with a 5-0 scoring run by Central Michigan. Despite the blow, Bellarmine went to work, putting up a 5-0 run of its own to even the score 5-5. From there, the Chippewas went back on the attack, surging out to a 13-7 lead as BU used its first timeout of the set. Following the break, Central Michigan kept its foot on the gas, scoring seven of the first eight points out of the break, including a 6-0 run, to extend its lead to 20-8. The Chippewas continued to chip away, ultimately winning the second set 25-12 to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Set 3
For the first time this match, the Knights jumped out on top first, taking an early 4-1 lead. Central Michigan wouldn't stay down long however as the Chippewas went on a 4-0 run to take a 5-4 lead. A tight contest for the next 16 points, Bellarmine stayed in it as they tied the set 10-10. From there, Central Michigan retook the lead, going up 15-12 as the Knights called their first timeout. The Chippewas offense stayed on the prowl as they scored eight of nine points out of the break, including a 7-0 run that forced Bellarmine to take its second timeout as the Knights found themselves down 21-13. Central Michigan made quick work of the final four points as they completed the sweep with a 25-15 win in set three.
 
Bellarmine will be back in action next weekend as the Knights open up their home schedule with the annual Bellarmine Classic at Knights Hall. BU will open the weekend with two matches on Friday, September 6, facing off against UAB at 12 p.m. ET before taking on IU Indy at 7:30 p.m. The Knights will close out the weekend's action on Saturday, September 7 with a match against Cincinnati at 2:30 p.m. ET.
 
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