LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team will make its home debut this weekend as the Knights are set to host the 2024 Bellarmine Volleyball Classic Friday, September 6 to Saturday, September 7. Bellarmine will welcome University of Alabama - Birmingham, Indiana University – Indianapolis and University of Cincinnati to Knights Hall in a three -game weekend.
 
The Knights will officially kick off their home schedule on Friday, September 6 at 12 p.m. ET as they take on the UAB Blazers. Bellarmine will close the day with a match against the IU Indy Jaguars at 7:30 p.m. ET. The final game of the weekend pits Bellarmine against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, September 7 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
 
BU opened its 2024 season last weekend at Illinois State's Linda Herman Classic, going 0-3 on the weekend. Junior Kylie Van Hoy and sophomores Maddie Hagan and Natalie Bland provided much of the Knights spark as Van Hoy and Bland turned in two double-doubles each while setting multiple career-highs. For Van Hoy, the highlight came when she set a new career-high with 41 assists on Friday night against Lindenwood, following the performance with another 41 assists on Saturday morning against Illinois State. Bland tallied a career-high 18 kills in the Knights' first match on Friday night. Hagan though was the star of the weekend, earning All-Tournament honors after recorded 29 kills, 11 blocks and eight digs. Hagan also set a new career-high with her 15-kill performance on Saturday morning. She also tied her career-high on Friday night with six blocks.
 
The Knights are 28-19 all-time in their home opening game. Since transitioning to Division I in 2020, Bellarmine is 2-2 in home openers. Leading into the transition, the Knights won five home openers in a row (2015-19) and seven of its last eight (2012-19). Last season, BU topped New Orleans 3-0 in its home opener on September 1.
 
About the field
 
UAB also kicked off its season last weekend, playing a pair of home matches. The Blazers come to Louisville with a 1-1 record, losing their last match 3-1 to Mississippi State on Aug. 31. Last season, UAB finished with a 5-26 record, going 3-16 in AAC action to finish in seventh place. UAB returned 12 players for 2024, adding four new players to its squad. Among its returners are junior Kelsey Smith and sophomore Mia Reese who led the Blazers with 298 and 289 kills, respectively. On defense, the Blazers returned two of their top three digs leaders in senior Asli Celikkol (226) and sophomore Brooklyn Allison (186) while senior Madison Page turned in 105.0 blocks in 2023. Through two games this season, sophomore Jorda Crook leads UAB with 36 kills and is hitting .491 with nine digs, five blocks and an ace. Crook racked up a career-high 24 kills in UAB's last match against Mississippi State. Bellarmine and UAB will face off for the first time in program history when the teams face off on Friday afternoon.
 
IU Indy enters the weekend with four games under its belt, owning a 2-2 record. The Jaguars come to Louisville after defeating Butler 3-1 on Wednesday night. Last season, IU Indy turned in a 9-20 record, finishing 3-15 in the Horizon League. The Jaguars were picked to finish eighth in the league in this year's preseason poll. IU Indy brings a veteran team to the court with three seniors, one junior and six sophomores, joined by a lone freshman and three transfers as the team's newcomers this season. The Jaguars had seven players record 100+ kills in 2023 and return six of those players, highlighted by their top two hitters in sophomores Maia Long (287) and Ava Harris (220). In addition, IU Indy returned its setter in fellow sophomore Grace Purichia, sister of Bellarmine's Anna Purichia, who recorded a whopping 873 assists last season, along with 279 digs, 112 kills, a team-high 38 aces and 20 blocks. This season, the Jaguars have continued to rely on multiple hitters with three players recording 30+ kills already in transfer sophomore Elle Patterson (56), Long (36) and junior Morgan Ostrowski (35). Purichia is off and running with 144 assists, ranking 14^th in the nation, with senior Addie Evans tallying 58 digs and Ostrowski and grad transfer Carly Doros turning in 13 blocks each. As a team, the Jaguars rank fifth in the nation in total attacks with 587 and 10^th in the nation in assists with 190. Bellarmine and IU Indy are familiar foes, having faced off 12 times in history. Overall, the Knights own a 7-5 record over the Jaguars but are 0-2 against them in the Division I era. BU and IU Indy met 10 times in Bellarmine's Division II era where the Knights went 7-3. The last time the Knights and Jaguars faced off was September 10, 2022 in Knights Hall, resulting in a 3-1 win for the Jaguars.
 
Cincinnati started its season last weekend at Bowling Green State University's Best Western Invitational, going 2-1. The Bearcats enter the Bellarmine Classic on a two-match win streak after sweeping Chicago State and Bowling Green to cap of their opening weekend. Last season, Cincinnati finished 12-16, 5-13 in the Big 12. In this year's Big 12 preseason poll, Cincinnati was picked to finish 13^th. The Bearcats return 12 letterwinners from 2023, including four starters. They also bring back four of their top six point scorers, including sophomore Zeta Washington (3.44 points per set) and senior Abby Walker (3.01 points per set). Cincinnati also returns its veteran setter in senior Katelyn Leffler who tallied 1,011 assists last year. So far this season, the Bearcats are led by Walker in the attack with 27 kills, followed closely by junior Carly Glendinning with 26 kills. Leffler is off and running again with 82 assists while freshman Faith Frame has recorded a team-high 29 digs and Walker has tallied 20 blocks and ranks fifth in the nation with 2.22 blocks per set. As a team, the Bearcats rank fifth in the nation in blocks per set with 3.67. Bellarmine and Cincinnati will face off for the first time in program history when the teams face off on Saturday afternoon.
 
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