LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team returns home to Knights Hall for the first time in 20 days, hosting Austin Peay and Lipscomb in Atlantic Sun Conference action Friday, October 31 and Saturday, November 1.

The Knights will open the homestand on Halloween as Austin Peay makes the trip to Louisville for a 6 pm E.T. first serve. All fans are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes to Friday's match. On Saturday, Bellarmine will take on Lipscomb at 4 pm E.T.

Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats available online.

Last weekend, Bellarmine turned in another 1-1 effort, topping the second ranked Central Arkansas Sugar Bears 3-2 in Conway before falling to North Alabama 3-1.

The win over UCA marked the Knights' 10^th of the season, pulling them into a tie for most wins in a season in the Division I era. Bellarmine will look to earn its program best 11^th win of a Division I season this weekend.

With just three weeks and six matches left in the regular season, the Knights are 4-6 in ASUN play and currently sit in a tie for eighth place in the league standings. The top eight teams make the ASUN Tournament. BU is tied with Stetson who won the lone matchup between the two teams this season.

Bellarmine has already met and played both Austin Peay and Lipscomb this season, splitting the weekend. The Knights came up flat against a tough Lipscomb team in the first meeting, losing 3-0. At the time, the Bisons were 4-8 and 0-2 in the ASUN. Bellarmine did however get the best of Austin Peay in round one, winning 3-2 over the Governors who were 2-12 and winless in the ASUN.
Sophomore Payton Parsons jumped into the top three in the ASUN in digs per set after recording 44 at 4.89 per set pace last weekend. She ranks tied for third in the conference with 4.07 digs per set and is tied for fourth with 338 total digs. Senior Kylie Van Hoy has been as consistent as they come in the ASUN, ranking third in the league with 8.59 assists per set and fourth in total assists with 679. Junior Natalie Bland has been the leading force on the offense all season and ranks fourth in the ASUN in total kills (267), fifth in kills per set (3.22) and sixth in points per set (3.61). Freshman Abby Julius has made an impact at the service line in her first season, ranking second in the conference in aces per set (0.42) and tied for third in total aces (31).

As a team, Bellarmine ranks tied for fourth in aces per set with 1.64 and is second in the ASUN in opponent aces per set, allowing just 1.25.

About the Governors

• Austin Peay is 4-18 overall and 2-8 in conference play this season. The Governors are coming off losses to Lipscomb and Queens last weekend but earned the lone ASUN wins the week before, defeating Stetson and FGCU in five sets on the road. APSU is currently ranked 11^th in the league.
• Grad student Dayan Malave Marrero has been solid at the net for Austin Peay, recording 72.0 blocks on the season, good for 0.95 per set, ninth best in the ASUN. Junior Reagan Anderson has been stout on the backline, registering 342 total digs for a 4.07 digs per set average, good for tied for third in the league with Bellarmine's Parsons. Offensively, sophomore Taly Cloyd continues to lead APSU with 240 kills. The Governors have used three different setters throughout the season with freshman Sarah Butler getting the bulk of the work, recording 333 assists.
• Bellarmine and Austin Peay have 11 times previously with the first matchup coming in 1979. The Knights hold a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series and are 4-3 against the Governors in the Division I era, winning four of the last five meetings. BU and APSU have gone to five sets in each of the last two meetings with both teams winning a match.

About the Bisons

• Lipscomb has improved to 10-10 overall and 6-4 in ASUN action since the first time Bellarmine saw the Bisons. They have won three straight matches entering the weekend, defeating Stetson (3-2), Austin Peay (3-0) and West Georgia (3-0) and will take on Eastern Kentucky on Friday night before arriving in Louisville on Saturday. With three weeks to play, Lipscomb is tied for fifth with Queens in the league standings.
• Senior Courtney Jones continues to lead Lipscomb's offense and the ASUN in kills and points per set, averaging 4.12 and 4.48, respectively. The outside hitter has turned in 280 kills on the year and is hitting a respectable .252. Fellow senior Berkley Mischler is second on the team with 209 kills and leads the ASUN with a .336 hitting percentage. She also ranks 10^th in the conference in kills per set (2.94) and points per set (3.44). Sophia Hudepohl, another senior, paces the Bisons and leads the ASUN with 10.54 assists per set and ranks second in the league with 748 total assists. Lipscomb's backline features four players with 140+ digs, led by freshman Kenzie Kucks 209 digs. Sophomore Kelsey Schenck is second with 174 while Hudepohl (144) and Jones (141) round out the group. Mischler leads the effort at the net for the Bisons, tallying 55.0 blocks on the year. As a team, Lipscomb leads the Atlantic Sun in kills per set (13.69), points per set (17.07) and assists per set (12.96) and ranks second in aces per set (1.79) and fourth in hitting percentage (.246).
• Bellarmine and Lipscomb have met 13 times since the Knights' ascension to Division I and the ASUN Conference. Lipscomb owns a perfect 13-0 advantage over Bellarmine in the all-time series. Sunday's match will be a good one as both Bellarmine and Lipscomb are atop the league in limiting opponents' offenses this season as both team rank in the top five in the ASUN in opponent assists and opponent kills allowed per set. The Bisons lead both categories with 10.38 assists allowed and 11.00 kills allowed per set with the Knights ranking fifth in both categories, allowing just 11.42 assists per set and 12.20 kills per set.

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