CLARKSVILLE, Tn. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team notched its first Atlantic Sun Conference victory of the 2025 season on Saturday night, taking down Austin Peay 3-2 (19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 15-9) on the road in a thrilling five set battle at the Winfield Dunn Center.

With the win, Bellarmine improves to 7-9 overall and 1-3 in ASUN play. Austin Peay remains winless in conference action and moves to 2-13, 0-4 on the year.

Redshirt freshman Mya White continued her tear on ASUN teams, setting a new career-high with 18 kills in the match while hitting .311. She added 17 digs to her line for an impressive double-double, marking her second of the year. Junior Erika Smith also had it going, turning in a career-high tying 15 kills while hitting a red-hot .353. She added a match-best six blocks. Senior Kylie Van Hoy stuffed the stat sheet, tallying a season-high tying 46 assists and 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the year while also contributing six kills and three blocks. Junior Natalie Bland, who was limited due to an injury sustained in the match, gutted out an 11 kill and 11 dig double-double, her fourth of the year. Sophomore Payton Parsons registered a team-high 24 digs on the night.

Set 1
Austin Peay got off to a fast start in the opening set, going up 5-1. The Knights picked up the energy quickly, tying the score at 8-8. From there, the Governors went on to reclaim their lead, holding onto the advantage entering the media timeout up 15-12. APSU scored another two points out of the break to go up 17-12 as Bellarmine used its first timeout. The Governors once again came out on the attack, scoring two more points for a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 19-12 and force the Knights to call their final timeout. BU continued to battle but was unable to overtake Austin Peay as the Governors took the set 25-19.

Set 2
The second set was more tightly contested to start with neither team able to find an edge. Bellarmine was able to leak out to a two-point lead at 7-5 for the first extended lead of the game, forcing Austin Peay to call its first timeout. Out of the break, the Knights continued to mount the pressure, extending their lead to four at 15-11 as the Governors called their final timeout. APSU wouldn't go down without a fight, using the break to re-energize, climbing all the way back to within one, down 19-18, forcing Bellarmine to call a timeout. From there, every point was a battle, but BU was able to pull out the 25-23 win to even the match 1-1.

Set 3
Just as they did in the first, the Governors jumped out in front to start the third stanza, taking an 8-5 lead. The Knights settled in quickly, evening the score at 11-11 as APSU used a timeout. Austin Peay was able to fight its way back in front with a 16-13 lead but Bellarmine was still fighting, tying things at 16-16. From there, the two teams traded points back-and-forth. Stil deadlocked at 23-23, Bellarmine found the edge it needed to get ahead and win the set 25-23 for a 2-1 advantage.

Set 4
Another battle from the beginning, neither team could take more than a one-point lead. After a short 2-0 run by Bellarmine to go up 10-9, Austin Peay called its first timeout. The break worked to the Governors advantage as they came out and scored five straight points to vault ahead 14-10 and force Bellarmine to use a timeout. The Governors continued their attack, holding a late 17-13 lead as BU called its final timeout. The Knights tried to make a late push, but the damage was done as Austin Peay claimed the set 25-20 to force a decisive fifth set.

Set 5
Austin Peay carried its momentum in the final set of the match, taking an early 3-1 lead. Bellarmine would not give in though, fighting back to a 3-3 stalemate before taking a 5-3 lead to force Austin Peay to call timeout. The Knights maintained control at 8-5 as the two teams switched sides of the court before winning the race to 10, holding a 10-6 lead, as APSU used its final timeout. From there it was all Bellarmine as the Knights cruised to a 15-9 set win, taking their first ASUN match 3-2.

Up next, Bellarmine will return home to continued conference play, hosting West Georgia and Queens next weekend at Knights Hall.

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