LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team ended its weekend at home with a hard-fought battle against Queens, falling 3-0 (23-25, 19-25, 22-25) in Knights Hall on Saturday afternoon.

Bellarmine moves to 8-10 overall and 2-4 in Atlantic Sun play this season while Queens improves to 12-7 and 3-3 in conference action.

Freshman Lillie Meinhart registered a team-best 10 kills in the match, committing just three errors in 16 swings for a red-hot .438 hitting percentage. Three Knights in juniors Natalie Bland and Erika Smith along with redshirt freshman Mya White tallied nine kills each. Bland added six digs and two assists to her line while Smith turned in a .333 hitting percentage, three blocks and assist. White contributed six digs, a block and an assist. Senior Kylie Van Hoy paced the offense with 34 assists in addition to eight digs, five kills and three blocks while hitting at a .333 clip. The digging duo of sophomore Payton Parsons and senior Tessa Nauert led the team with 14 and 11 digs, respectively.

Despite the loss, Bellarmine out killed Queens 44-43 while also turning in more assists (41-39). Both teams registered 6.0 blocks while Queens out dug the Knights 50-48. Errors spelled the difference in the math for BU as the team committed 32 total errors to the Royals 21.

Set 1
Bellarmine got off on the right foot, taking an early 4-1 lead in the first set. The Knights continued to maintain control until a 3-0 run by Queens evened the score at 7-7. BU got back in control quickly however, holding on to a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. Out of the break, Queens rallied to even the stanza at 16-16 before jumping ahead 18-17 for its first lead, causing Bellarmine to call a timeout. The Royals continued to add on points, extending the lead to 21-18 as the Knights used their final timeout. After a quick BU point out of the break, Queens called its first timeout, still up 21-19. From there, Bellarmine made a late run, getting with one at 24-23 to force the Royals to use their final timeout. The break proved beneficial as Queens came out and scored the final point for a 25-23 opening set win.

Set 2
In the second frame, Queens was the one to jump out first, taking a 6-2 lead. The Knights battled but used their first timeout down 10-6. Out of the break, the Royals continued to hold a lead. Bellarmine did everything they could but never got any closer than a three-point deficit as Queens went on for a 25-19 win.

Set 3
Just as they did in the first, the Knights opened with a 4-2 lead. The Royals rallied however and turned the deficit into a lead with a 5-0 run, going up 7-4. BU got back within two at 10-8 but another run by the Royals forced Bellarmine to use a timeout down 13-8. Down five still at 18-13, the Knights went on a 4-2 run to get back within three, down 18-15. They continued to battle, climbing all the way back to just a one-point deficit at 22-21, forcing Queens to call a timeout. The Royals scored two of three points out of the break however, going up 24-22 as the Knights used their final timeout. Out of the break, Queens scored the final point it needed for a 25-23 win and 3-0 sweep.

Up next, Bellarmine will begin its longest ASUN road trip of the season, starting with a weekend in Florida as the Knights take on Jacksonville and North Florida October 17-18.

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