LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University volleyball continues its longest road stretch of the season this weekend, traveling to Indianapolis, IN for the Hampton Inn Invite, hosted by IU Indy.

The Knights will play three games in three days from September 11 to September 13, taking on IU Indy, Northern Illinois and Gonzaga at The Jungle.

BU will open the event on Thursday night, September 11, taking on the host Jaguars at 7 pm E.T. On Friday, Bellarmine will follow with a 5 pm E.T. match against Northern Illinois before concluding play on Saturday, September 13, against Gonzaga at 12 pm E.T.

All three Bellarmine matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The Knights are coming off their first road week of the year, an 0-3 weekend at James Madison's LD&B Insurance. Despite some of the scores, Bellarmine fought hard in all three contests. Senior Kylie Van Hoy was named to the LD&B Insurance Invitational All-Tournament Team after registering 92 assists, 18 kills, 16 digs, five blocks and a service ace. She turned in her best performance in the five-set thriller against Princeton, notching a season-high 46 assists and 12 kills while adding eight digs and five blocks. Junior Natalie Bland led all hitters with 28 kills on the weekend. Fellow junior Erika Smith tallied 23 kills while redshirt freshman Mya White added 22 kills. Bland and senior Tessa Nauert tied for the team lead in digs recorded with 26 each while White (23) and sophomore Payton Parsons (21) also contributed 20+ digs each. White had a career day against Princeton, turning in new highs in kills (15), digs (18) and aces (3).

About the Jaguars

• IU Indy is off to a 4-2 start to its season. The Jaguars are coming off a 1-2 weekend at Xavier's Tournament where the fell to Xavier 3-1 and EKU 3-0 before topping Miami (OH) 3-2. IU Indy started its campaign with two road tournament and will be playing its first home matches of the year this weekend. In 2024, the Jaguars turned in a 15-17 overall record and went 9-9 in the Horizon League, good enough for a postseason berth to the Horizon League Tournament where they dropped their opening round match to Cleveland State 3-0. IU Indy was picked to finish fifth in the league's Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• The Jaguars offense is spread evenly across its top hitters and is led by freshman Jillian Tippmann with 69 kills on the season. She is followed by senior Morgan Ostrowski with 54 kills and junior Maia Long with 42 kills. Defensively freshman Laura Roeder is tops with 99 digs for the Jaguars. Junior Grace Purichia, sister of former Knight Anna Purichia, paces the IU Indy offense with 211 assists, good for 10.05 assists per set. Purichia also ranks second on the team in digs with 58 and leads with eight aces. Additionally on the defensive front, Ostrowski has recorded a team-best 14.0 blocks on the year with freshman Amanda Stephens adding 12.0 and Tippmann contributing 10.0.
• Bellarmine and IU Indy have met 15 times on the court prior to Thursday's match. The Knights are 8-7 all-time against the Jaguars but are 0-3 in the Division I era. From 1988-1997, the two teams met 12 times with Bellarmine owning an 8-4 advantage. In their most recent meeting on September 6, 2024, IU Indy left the Bellarmine Classic with a 3-1 win. Thursday will be Bellarmine's first trip to The Jungle since its ascension to Division I.

About the Huskies

• Northern Illinois has started its 2025 campaign with a 5-1 record. The Huskies are coming off a 3-0 weekend at their NIU Invitational, defeating Merrimack 3-0, Indiana State 3-2 and SIUE 3-0. Their one loss this season came at the hands of Stetson 3-2 at the Hatters tournament on opening weekend. Last season, NIU turned in a 4-24 overall record and 2-16 record in the MAC. The Huskies were picked to finish 11^th this season in the MAC's Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Northern Illinois' offense features three players with 50+ kills on the year, led by sophomore Ava Grevengoed with 89. Sophomore Emma McCartney is second on the team with 65 kills with junior Autumn Flynn rounding out the trio with 55 kills. Sophomore Ella Strausberger operates as NIU's primary setter and leads the team with 163 assists. Redshirt Junior Kylie Schulze gets the bulk of the second-hand work, notching 96 assists. Defensively, sophomore Jordyn Tynsky leads the team with 109 digs, good for 4.36 per set, while Grevengoed ranks second with 72. At the net, sophomore Rylea Alvin has amassed a team-high 26.0 blocks already with senior Alexa Hayes closely behind with 20.0.
• Bellarmine and Northern Illinois will meet for the first time on Friday.

About the Bulldogs

• Gonzaga is 4-2 to start the 2025 season. The Bulldogs are coming off a 2-1 weekend at their home tournament, taking down CSU Bakersfield 3-1 and Maryland Eastern Shore 3-0 before falling to Montana State 3-0. Last year, Gonzaga went just 1-27 and 0-18 in WCC play. This season, the Bulldogs were picked to finish 11^th in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Gonzaga's offense is led by sophomore Sjakkie Donkers with 67 kills on the year, good for 4.47 per set. Freshman Kelly McAuley is second on the team with 45 kills. Junior Nia Damuni runs the offense with 144 assists while sophomore Kate Herrick ranks second with 59. Defensively, junior Maggie Rickert leads a trio of Bulldogs with 50+ digs, registering 65 on the year. Damuni ranks second with 58 while McAuley follows with 53. At the net, sophomore Taylor Walsh leads the team with 16.0 blocks while redshirt sophomore Dani Johnson follows right behind with 15.0.
• Bellarmine and Gonzaga will face off for the first time on Saturday.

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