LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bellarmine volleyball closed out its opening weekend with hard fought 3-1 (25-21, 25-15, 21-25, 27-25) win over SIUE in the final game of the Bellarmine Classic, presented by Hilton Garden Inn, on Saturday afternoon in Knights Hall.

"I thought we were really resilient through the end of that match," head coach Rick Nold said. "They're a scrappy team and they're a little awkward for us to defend. We were efficient offensively and it kept us in the game so we could make some runs at the end"

Three different Knights tallied double-digit kills, led by junior Natalie Bland with a match-high 13. Bland added 12 digs to notch her first double-double of the season while also turning in two blocks and an assist. Fellow Junior Maddie Hagan was next with 12 kills on 26 swings to hit a blistering .423. Redshirt-freshman Mya White turned in a career-high 11 kills on the day while also contributing two aces and a block. Senior Kylie Van Hoy paced the offense with 40 assists, adding a team-high 14 digs for her first double-double of the year while also contributing two aces and a block.

Set 1
Scoring was dead even to start the match with the teams deadlocked at 10-10. The Knights (2-1) were able to string a few points together to take a three-point lead at 13-10 before going on a 7-3 run to bust the game open 20-13. Bellarmine faltered for a short stretch, allowing SIUE (0-3) to get back in the set with its lead cut to three at 22-19 but the Knights played tough and held on for a 25-21 victory in the first.

Set 2
The second set started much like the first with the score even at 10-10. Bellarmine once again turned up the pace and used a 5-1 run to go up 15-11 at the media timeout. Out of the break, it was all Bellarmine as the Knights pushed their lead up to 21-14, forcing the Cougars to call a timeout. It didn't take long from there as BU cruised to a 25-15 set two win.

Set 3
SIUE came out of the intermission with a different mindset, jumping ahead 11-5 as the Knights used an early timeout. As the game played on, the Cougars held fast to their lead, never letting Bellarmine get too close. BU used a late 4-1 run to get back within two, down 17-19 but SIUE regrouped and went on to win the third stanza 25-21.

Set 4
This time, Bellarmine came out with something to prove, taking a 9-5 lead to start the fourth set. The Knights continued to control the game as the media break loomed, but SIUE would not go down without a fight, scratching their way back to within one at 14-13. BU got the point it needed to reach 15 first and refocus at the break where they came out and pounced on the Cougars for three more points to extend the lead back to four at 18-14 and force SIUE to call a timeout. The break served the Cougars well as the scored three of four points as play resumed, getting back within one against 19-18 to force a timeout from the Knights. From there, the two teams traded points back-and-forth with neither able to find much of an edge. SIUE took its first lead of the stanza at 23-22 to force Bellarmine to use its final timeout. With the game coming down to the end, the Knights rattled off two quick points out of the break to set themselves up for match point as the Cougars used their final timeout. The teams went back-and-forth until Bellarmine ultimately came out on top 27-25 to claim the set and take the match.

Up next, Bellarmine will travel to Harrisonburg, VA for the LD&B Insurance Invitational September 5-6, hosted by James Madison University. The Knights will play three games over the two-day event, taking on JMU, Princeton and Lehigh.

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