INDIANAPOLIS, In. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team, in its final non-conference game of the season, went to Butler and came out victorious, topping the Bulldogs 3-1 on Friday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
After dropping the first set 25-21, the Knights we're locked the rest of the match, winning the next three sets in a row by scores of 26-24, 25-23 and 26-24, respectively.
 
With the win, the Knights move to 3-7 on the season as they head into conference play. For the Bulldogs, the loss drops them to 2-8 on the year.
 
As a team, Bellarmine out-did Butler in the kills department 63-60, in aces 10-2 and in digs 74-64. Sophomore Natalie Bland led the Knights with 16 kills, adding 10 digs for her third double-double of the season. Fellow sophomore Erika Smith and fifth year senior Addison Foote ranked second on the team, notching 11 kills each. Smith hit a whopping .455 for the match, contributing three digs and two blocks while Foote added three digs. Senior Anna Purichia also turned in double-digit kills, tallying 10 in the match.
 
Reigning ASUN Setter of the Week junior Kylie Van Hoy paced the Knight offense, dishing out 33 assists while recording 11 digs for her team-high fifth double-double of the year. Van Hoy also contributed eight kills and three aces. Freshman Payton Parsons, recently named ASUN Freshman of the Week, led Bellarmine with 23 digs, marking her second straight game with 20+ digs after notching a career-high 30 in the last match.
 
Set 1
Bellarmine started the first set on top, taking an early 4-2 lead. Butler scratched its way back into the game, evening the score at 6-6 before the Knights turned in a 3-0 run to retake the lead at 9-6. The Bulldogs saw the run and answered with one of their own to re-tie the score 9-9 before tearing off four straight points to take a 13-10 lead as Bellarmine called its first timeout of the set. The run didn't stop there for Butler as they scored the first two points out of the break to extend the lead to 15-10. The Bulldogs continued to maintain control, up six at 18-12 but Bellarmine wouldn't go down without a fight, turning a 4-0 run of its own to get back within two, down 18-16 as Butler used its first timeout of the stanza. The Bulldogs came out of the break on the attack, scoring the first two points as Bellarmine called its final timeout. The Knights continued to battle, getting within on at 22-21 but ultimately the run would not have enough time as Butler scored the final three points for a 25-21 win.
 
Set 2
The Knights started the second set just as they had the first, taking a quick 2-0 lead. Butler answered immediately though, scoring three straight points to go up 3-2. Bellarmine would not be outdone however, scoring four straight points to retake the lead 6-3. The Knights then used another two 3-0 runs to sprint out to a 12-6 lead and force Butler to call its first timeout. The break was fruitful for the Bulldogs as they rallied to get back within three, down 14-11 as the Knights called their first timeout. Butler remained on the attack, scoring six of eight points out of the break to take a 17-16 lead as the Knights to call their final timeout. The Bulldogs looked to be running away with the set until Bellarmine refocused and went on a 3-0 run to get back within two, down 23-21 late as Butler called its final timeout. The Knights continued to push the pace out of the break, scoring three points in a row to take a 24-23 lead before finishing the set with a 26-24 victory.
 
Set 3
For the first time in the match, Butler got out to the early lead, jumping in front 3-0 to start. Bellarmine answered immediately, scoring three straight points to even the score at 3-3 before another 3-0 run gave the Knights a 6-4 lead. Butler evened the score soon after at 7-7, but the Knights continued to put up runs, scoring three straight points to retake the lead 10-7. From there, the stanza went back-and-forth as neither team could a lead for long. After a 17-17 tie, Bellarmine put up three straight points to go up 20-17 and force Butler to call its first timeout. The Knights followed with another two consecutive points out of the break as the Bulldogs quickly used their final timeout, down 22-17 late. Butler was not down for the count yet though as the Bulldogs used the second break to go on a 3-0 run to get back within two, down 22-20 as the Knights called a timeout. The teams once again traded points, but Bellarmine was ultimately able to end up on top, taking the third set 25-23.
 
Set 4
Once again, the Knights started the set on top, taking an early 4-0 lead. Butler scratched its way back into the set, using a 4-0 run to jump ahead 7-6. From there, the stanza went back-and-forth before Butler used another 4-0 run to go up three at 13-10 as Bellarmine called its first timeout. The Knights stayed persistent though, tying the match the match at 15-15, 16-16 and 18-18 before Butler used yet another run, this time of three straight points to take a late 21-18 lead as the Knights called their second timeout. Bellarmine took three of four points out of the break to get right back into it, down just one at 22-21 as the Bulldogs used a timeout. The Knights scored two of three points out of the break though, forcing Butler to call its final timeout of the set with the score tied 23-23. Butler was able to stop the bleeding with the first point following the break, but Bellarmine would not be denied as the Knights scored the next three points to secure the 26-24 win and take a 3-1 victory over the Bulldogs.
 
Up next, Bellarmine opens up ASUN conference play as the Knights play host to Austin Peay and Lipscomb next week. The Knights will take on the Governors on September 26 at 6 p.m. ET before facing off against the Bisons on September 28 at 4 p.m. ET in Knights Hall.
 
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