LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On the final night of the regular season, Bellarmine volleyball gave it everything they had, taking North Alabama to five sets before falling in a heartbreaking final, 3-2, on senior night in Knights Hall.
Before the match, Bellarmine celebrated the careers of three seniors in
Kylie Van Hoy,
Tessa Nauert and
Addie Poehner.
The Knights (11-17, 5-11 ASUN) battled in the first but were unable to stop a potent North Alabama attack, dropping the opening set 25-16. Bellarmine rallied in the second however, using a late 21-17 lead to even the match with a 25-21 win. UNA (14-15, 8-8 ASUN) struck again in the third, winning 25-17. Bellarmine would not give up however, rallying once again for 25-23 fourth set victory to force a decisive fifth set. In the fifth, the Lions took an 11-6 lead that seemed too large to overcome but the Knight never gave in, clawing back to a 14-14 tie after a successful challenge staved off a UNA win at 14-11. The two teams went back-and-forth, trading points until North Alabama got the run it needed for a 19-17 win, taking the match 3-2.
Junior
Natalie Bland led the offense with her highest kill total of the season, turning in 21 eliminations while hitting .268 with eight digs, four blocks, two assists and two aces. Redshirt freshman
Mya White was second on the team with 14 kills, adding three digs and a block while junior
Erika Smith rounded out the top hitters with 11 kills on a .321 clip with six blocks. Sophomore
Payton Parsons was all over the court, tallying a match-high tying 19 digs in addition to five assists and an ace.
Van Hoy gave it her all in her final collegiate match, racking up 42 assists and 12 digs for her team leading 12
th double double of the year, adding five kills, two blocks and two aces to her line. Nauert and Poehner added six digs each while Nauert also contributed three assists on the night.
Bellarmine was stout at the net, registering 12.0 total blocks as a team, besting the effort of the well-disciplined Lions who recorded 9.0.
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