CONWAY, Ar. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team turned in a gritty team performance on Friday night, upsetting Central Arkansas 3-2 on the road for their second straight conference win.

The Knights (10-11, 4-5) claimed the opening set before UCA took control with wins in sets two and three. Bellarmine responded in the fourth to even the match and force a decisive fifth set where the Knights complete the comeback and upset the No. 2 ranked team in the ASUN on its home court.

Going back to last season, Bellarmine and Central Arkansas (10-9, 7-2) have gone the distance for a full five sets in back-to-back matches, each team claiming one victory. In six total matchups between the Knights and Sugar Bears in Conway, tonight marked Bellarmine's first win in the Prince Center.

With the win, BU ties the program record for wins in a season in the Division I era (10, 2023).

The win also moves the Knights to 4-1 in 2025 in five set matches, a complete 180 from their 1-4 record in 2024.

Bellarmine had a pair of players in double figures, led by Natalie Bland with a match-high 18 kills. The junior also recorded 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the year, adding three blocks and an assist. Redshirt freshman Mya White tallied 14 kills on the night with five digs and two aces. Senior Kylie Van Hoy stuffed the stat sheet as nearly recorded a triple-double, turning in 34 assists, 13 digs, 6 kills (.625%), three aces and two blocks. Sophomore Payton Parsons was stout on the backline, registering a match-high 25 digs, her second highest total of the year.

The service line was key to Bellarmine's success as the Knights recorded a season-high 15 aces in the match. Despite turning in 13 service errors due their aggressive plan, BU still managed less than Central Arkansas as the Sugar Bears notched 15 errors to just three aces. Five Knights contributed to the effort with all five recording at least two aces each. Freshman Abby Julius, one of the top servers in the ASUN, and senior Tessa Nauert tallied four aces each. Julius was on fire in the first set, ripping three aces in a row. Nauert also fired in three consecutive aces, doing so in the fourth set to swing the tide in Bellarmine's favor before coming up clutch with an ace for the winning point in the fifth set.

UCA was more efficient offensively, outhitting Bellarmine .247 to .131, but the Knights tallied out produced the Sugar Bears 54-51 in the kill department. Defensively, Central Arkansas was phenomenal at the net, recording 15.0 total blocks, while the Knights managed just 5.0. Bellarmine won the dig contest though, 77-67.

Up next, Bellarmine will conclude its longest Atlantic Sun road stretch of the season with a bout against North Alabama in Florence, AL.

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