LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team opens its ASUN conference schedule with two games this weekend as the Knights play host to Austin Peay and Lipscomb at Knights Hall.
 
Bellarmine will open its ASUN slate on Friday, September 27 at 6 p.m. ET against the Austin Peay Governors. The Knights will wrap up their first conference weekend on Saturday, September 28 at 4 p.m. ET against the Lipscomb Bisons.
 
Since joining the ASUN, Bellarmine is 0-4 in its first conference match of the season. The Knights have been very competitive in their conference opener every season in Division I, playing five sets in three of the four matches. Last season, Bellarmine fell 3-0 to Eastern Kentucky. In Bellarmine's Division II era, the Knights went 13-13 in GLVC openers from 1993-2019.
 
The Knights enter conference play with a 3-7 record and are coming off a 3-1 win over Butler last Friday where they battled to the last point in each of the three sets they won. In the match, Bellarmine topped the Bulldogs in kills, 63-60, digs, 74-64, and aces, 10-2. The 10 aces by the Knights were a new season high. Individually, sophomore Natalie Bland led Bellarmine in kills for the fifth time this season, tallying 16 with 10 digs for her third double-double of the year. Fellow sophomore Erika Smith and fifth year senior Addison Foote notched 11 kills each with Smith hitting a whopping .455 with three digs and two blocks while Foote added three digs. Senior Anna Purichia also turned in double-digit kills in the match, tallying 10. Junior Kylie Van Hoy, who was named ASUN Setter of the Week just days prior, notched her team-high fifth double-double of the season with 33 assists and 11 digs, adding eight kills and three aces. Fellow ASUN weekly award honoree freshman Payton Parsons, ASUN Freshman of the Week, recorded her second straight game with 20+ digs as she tallied 23 in the match. Grad student Mara Parry was the third Knight in the match to record a double-double, her first of the season, turning in a season-high 15 assists and 12 digs.
 
About the Governors
Austin Peay is off to a 1-10 start to the season as the Governors enter conference play this week. APSU is coming off an 0-3 weekend at the Alyssa Cavanaugh Classic, hosted by Western Kentucky, and will begin its conference slate with Eastern Kentucky on Thursday night before facing off against Bellarmine on Friday. Austin Peay was picked to finish 10^th in the league's preseason poll after a 10^th place finish last season. The Governors use a balanced attack on offense as four players have 50+ kills with two exceeding 80 kills so far this season. Junior Sarah Carnathan leads APSU with 86 kills, adding 44 digs, good for fourth most on the team. Fellow junior Payton Deidsheimer ranks second in kills with 82 and blocks with 24. Sophomore Anna Rita leads Austin Peay with 26 blocks and ranks fourth on the team with 50 kills. Rita was named to the Alyssa Cavanaugh Classic All-Tournament team last weekend for her 23 kills over three matches. Rita also turned in seven blocks in the Governors match against Eastern Illinois and hit .417 against Arkansas State. Austin Peay's offense is paced by two setters, freshman Kayleigh Ryan and sophomore Maggie Duyos. Ryan leads the team with 140 assists while Duyos is right behind her with 139 assists. On defense, freshman Tayler Baron leads the Govs with 155 digs while Duyos ranks second with 93. Bellarmine and Evansville have faced off four times since Bellarmine's rise to Division I. The Knights are 2-2 against the Governors all-time having won each of the last two meetings. Friday's contest will mark the fourth time in five matches the teams will face off in Knights Hall.
 
About the Bisons
Lipscomb is 3-8 to start the season as the Bisons also begin conference play this week. The Bisons are coming off an 0-2 weekend at their own Lippy Invite, falling in four sets to Missouri and in five sets to Illinois. Lipscomb will first take on Eastern Kentucky on Friday night before facing off with the Knights on Saturday. Lipscomb was tabbed to finish first in the ASUN's preseason poll after a second-place finish in 2023. The Bisons offense is led by junior Courtney Jones with 114 kills. Jones also adds 39 digs, 10 blocks and a team-high 18 aces to her stat line. Grad student Meg Mersman ranks second on the team with 75 kills and leads the Bisons with 34 blocks. Earlier this season, Mersman surpassed Lipscomb's program leader in block assists and owns 298 in her career and is already the program leader in blocks per set at 0.98. Mersman was tabbed to repeat as the ASUN's Player of the Year in this season's preseason poll after claiming the title in 2023. Junior Sophia Hudephol paces the Bisons offense from the setter position and has racked up 308 assists this season, adding 87 digs, 12 aces and four blocks. Hudephol was named the ASUN's preseason Setter of the Year after claiming the title in 2023. On September 12, Hudephol became the fifth Lipscomb player (Division I era) to surpass 2,500 career assists. Including Hudephol, Lipscomb has three players with 80+ digs on the season in senior Libby Steinhart (89) and grad student Karlie McNabb (81). Bellarmine and Lipscomb have faced off 10 times since the Knights' rise to Division I. Bellarmine is 0-10 all-time against the Bisons. The last time the two teams met was October 17, 2023 where the Knights fell 3-2 in their closest battle to date.
 
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