LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team opened the ASUN portion of its schedule in grand fashion, sweeping Austin Peay in straight sets on Friday night at Knights Hall.
 
Despite the dreary weather all day leading up to the match, the Knights came out energized and ready to play, rolling through Austin Peay 25-11, 25-17, 25-20 to open ASUN play 1-0. The win marks the first conference opening victory for the Knights since they joined the ASUN in 2020.
 
Bellarmine improves to 4-7 on the year, 1-0 in ASUN play while Austin Peay drops to 1-12, 0-2 in league action.
 
Sophomore Natalie Bland shower her versatility, leading the Knights in kills with 14, digs with 10 and blocks with three as she turned in her fourth double-double of the season and second in as many games. In addition, Bland hit a red-hot .375 on the night, a new season best mark. Senior Anna Purichia was the only other Knight to get to double-digit kills, notching 11 on 20 swings for a .450 hitting percentage while also contributing a block. Fifth-year senior Addison Foote and sophomore Erika Smith round out the top attackers for Bellarmine as Foote collected nine kills and hit .304 with a block while Smith tallied eight kills and a whopping .800 with a block. Junior Kylie Van Hoy paced the Knights' offense with 39 assists, adding four digs and two kills. As a team, Bellarmine turned in its highest hitting percentage of the season at .396, topping the previous high of .330 against Murray State.
 
Set 1
The Knights opened the first set of the match with a kill by Foote before rattling off a 3-0 run to take an early 7-3 lead. After tading points back-and-forth, the Knights got the serve back with an 11-7 lead thanks to an Austin Peay error. Junior Tessa Nauert took the serve for Bellarmine and never looked back as the Knights went on the attack and turned in a 7-0 run to bust the game open at 19-7. Austin Peay was able to steal a few points in between 3-0 runs by Bellarmine but the Knights ultimately took the first set 25-10.
 
Set 2
Bellarmine opened the second set in similar fashion as the first, taking an early 3-1 lead. The Governors rallied and tied the stanza 3-3 before the Knights went back on the attack, ripping off four straight points to go up 7-3. Austin Peay stayed tough and remained in the set as Bellarmine won the race to 15, up three at 15-12. The Govs took the first point out of the media break to get within two, but the Knights had other plans as they turned in a 6-0 run to jump out in front 21-13. The teams once again traded points back-and-forth, but it was too late for the Governors as Bellarmine secured set two 25-13.
 
Set 3
Set three was contentious to start. Bellarmine jumped out in front first with a 3-1 lead, but Austin Peay rallied immediately to tie the set 3-3. From there, the Governors took their first lead of the match, thanks to a 4-0 run, up 7-3 on the Knights. Bellarmine finally clawed its way back, tying the score 9-9. From there, neither team could gain much of an edge as they traded points. The Knights were able to jump ahead heading into the media timeout, using a 3-0 run to go up 15-12. Bellarmine remained in control out of the break, slowly working towards victory. The Knights wrapped up the set with a final 3-0 run, completing the sweep with a 25-20 win.
 
Up next, Bellarmine will continue its opening weekend of ASUN action as the Knights host Lipscomb on Saturday, September 28. The match is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET in Knights Hall and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
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