LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team embarks on its first Atlantic Sun Conference road trip of the season this weekend as the team makes the trip to Tennessee for bouts with Lipscomb and Austin Peay.

Bellarmine will kick the weekend off with a 7 pm E.T. match in Nashville, TN at Lipscomb on Friday, October 3 before making the short journey to Clarksville, TN for an 8 pm E.T. match at Austin Peay on Saturday, October 4. Both games this weekend will broadcast live on ESPN+.

Last weekend, the Knights opened their ASUN schedule with a pair of home contests, hosting Eastern Kentucky and Stetson in Knights Hall. BU dropped both contests 3-1 to start the conference season 0-2.

Redshirt freshman Mya White had a career weekend offensively, turning in a new best in kills with 16 in both matches. She led the Knights with 32 total kills, turning in 4.00 per set. Junior Natalie Bland set a new season-high on Sunday against Stetson, racking up 19 kills against the Hatters, the most by any Knight in a match this season.

With half of the season already behind them, four Bellarmine's starters are well on their way to surpassing their yearly totals from a season ago. Senior Kylie Van Hoy has racked up 429 assists this season after turning in 813 in 2024. Junior Natalie Bland has registered 183 kills so far, matching her total from her freshman season in seven fewer matches, and is just under half-way to her 369 kills from a year ago. Fellow junior Erika Smith has already tallied 44.0 blocks this season and is on pace to go well beyond her career-high 51.0 blocks from last season. Sophomore Payton Parsons turned in an impressive 280 digs in her 24 matches last season but looks poised to threaten the record book with 207 digs through 14 matches this year.

As Bellarmine begins conference play, four Knights rank in the top ten in the league in multiple statistical categories. Bland is third in the ASUN in total kills (183) and fourth in kills per set (3.45) and points per set (3.86). Van Hoy is second in the conference in total assists (429) and third in assists per set (8.76). Parsons ranks fourth in total digs (207) and sixth in digs per set (3.91). Freshman Abby Julius is second in the ASUN in aces per set (0.48) and third in total aces (21).

About the Bisons

• Lipscomb is off to a 4-8 start to its season and began its ASUN schedule on the road last weekend, dropping a pair of matches to Central Arkansas and North Alabama, both by a 3-0 score. Lipscomb currently ranks tied for ninth in the ASUN with Bellarmine, Austin Peay and West Georgia. Last year, the Bisons turned in a 19-11 record and went on an impressive 14-2 run in ASUN play to earn them the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. The Bisons defeated UNA and UCA to advance to the finals against FGCU where their championship bid ended. This season, Lipscomb was picked to win the league, receiving eight of 12 first place votes in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Senior Courtney Jones is off to a hot start for the Bisons, leading the team with 154 kills on the year while hitting a respectable .253 from the outside. She averages a league leading 3.95 kills per set and 4.35 points per set while also contributing 80 digs and seven blocks. Fellow senior Berkley Mischler is one of the most efficient hitters in the league, ranking second with a .373 clip. She has 107 kills on the season and leads the Bisons with 34.0 blocks. Sophia Hudepohl, another senior, continues to be a leading setter in the ASUN as she ranks second with 9.85 assists per set. She has 394 total assists on the year with 70 digs, 12 kills and 12.0 blocks. As a team, Lipscomb ranks fourth in the ASUN in hitting (.233), assists per set (12.23) and aces per set (1.70) and ranks fifth in the league in kills per set (12.98).
• Bellarmine and Lipscomb have met 12 times since the Knights' ascension to Division I and the ASUN Conference. Lipscomb owns a perfect 12-0 advantage over the Knights in the all-time series. Bellarmine has pushed the Bisons to the brink twice with a five-set matches coming in each of the last seasons (9/29/24, 10/27/23).

About the Governors

• Austin Peay is off to a 2-12 start to its season and began ASUN play 0-2 last weekend after falling to North Alabama and Central Arkansas, both by a 3-0 score. The Governors will first take on Eastern Kentucky on Friday night before Bellarmine comes to town on Saturday. Austin Peay is currently ranked tied for ninth in the league with Bellarmine, Lipscomb and West Georgia. Last season, APSU went 2-26 overall and 1-15 in the ASUN. This season, the Governors were tabbed to finish eighth in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Sophomore Taly Cloyd leads Austin Peay with 122 kills on the year, over 40 more than junior Lauren Wallace who is second with 81. The Governors run their offense through two setters in freshman Sarah Butler and Gianna Tagoa'i. The pair have combined for 385 with Butler tallying 202 and Tagoa'i turning in 183. Junior Reagan Anderson leads the defensive effort with 215 digs on the year, good for 4.06 per set which ranks second in the ASUN. The Governors have four players with 20.0+ blocks on the year and are led by grad student Dayan Malave with 37.0 with redshirt junior Nya Browne close behind with 34.0 on the year.
• Bellarmine and Austin Peay have met 10 times previously with the first matchup coming in 1979. The Knights hold a 6-4 advantage in the all-time series are 3-3 against the Governors in the Division I era. Last season, the two teams split a pair of meetings with Bellarmine winning 3-0 on September 27 in Knights Hall and Austin Peay taking a 3-2 victory on November 2 in Clarksville.

For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow BUKnights on X, Instagram and Facebook.