LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team concluded its ASUN opening weekend at home, dropping a four-set match to Stetson 3-1 (23-25, 20-25, 25-22, 21-25) on Sunday afternoon at Knights Hall.

The Knights open their conference schedule 0-2 and are now 6-8 on the year. Stetson kicks off its ASUN schedule 1-0 and improves to 5-8 on the season.

Junior Natalie Bland was the leading force the Bellarmine offense on the day as she registered a season-best 19 kills. In addition, she tallied a season-high tying 14 digs for her third double-double of the year while rounding out her line with two blocks, an assist and an ace. Redshirt freshman Mya White was second on the team, turning in a career-best 16 kills in back-to-back matches. White also recorded six digs and two blocks. Senior Kylie Van Hoy paced the offense with 45 assists in the match while also contributing eight digs and two blocks. Fellow senior Tessa Nauert and sophomore Payton Parsons equaled Bland on the defensive end with 14 digs each, all tied for the team high.

Set 1
The Knights opened the match with a quick lead as they jumped ahead 5-1 in the opening stanza. Stetson closed the gap to three at 6-3 before BU ripped off four points for a 10-5 lead, forcing the Hatters to call a timeout. Out of the break, Stetson scored three straight points to cut the lead to two at 10-8 but Bellarmine surged ahead again for a four-point lead at 15-11. The Hatters answered again however, rallying for a 5-1 run to tie the set at 16-16 as Bellarmine used a timeout. BU bounced back out of the break, scoring four of six points to retake the lead at 20-18 as Stetson called its final timeout. The break was just what the Hatters needed though as they came out on the attack, scoring five points to take a late 24-23 lead and force the Knights to use their final timeout. Stetson got the final point it needed right of the break to take the first set 25-23.

Set 2
In the second set, neither team was able to find an edge early. With a 10-8 lead, Bellarmine was hit by a 4-0 burst by Stetson, flipping the lead to a 10-12 deficit, forcing a timeout. Stetson scored two of the first points out of the break to extend its lead to 14-11 before rallied for a 6-2 run, taking a 17-16 lead and forcing a Stetson timeout. The Hatters came out in a hurry, turning in a 4-1 run to retake a 20-18 lead as BU called its final timeout of the frame. From there, Stetson slowly worked its way to a 25-20 win for a 2-0 lead.

Set 3
Once again, the start to the third set was tightly contested. Even at 7-7, the Hatters picked up steam and rattled off a 5-2 run for a 12-9 lead, forcing the Knights to use their first timeout. Bellarmine closed the gap to one out of the break, down 14-13 as Stetson called its first timeout. The Knights continued their rally, tying the set at 14-14 before vaulting ahead with an 18-17 lead to force the Hatters to use their final timeout. Out of the break, Bellarmine continued to use its momentum to carry the Knights to a 25-22 set three victory.

Set 4
Bellarmine got out to an early lead in the fourth, thanks to back-to-back service aces, taking a 3-1 lead. Stetson hung tight though and began to find its groove again as the Hatters tied the set at 4-4 before going on a 7-3 run to take a 11-7 lead as BU used a timeout. The Hatters continued to pile on, tacking on five more points out of the break to extend their lead to 16-13 as the Knights called their final timeout. Out of the break, Bellarmine rallied for three straight points, cutting the deficit to three at 16-13 and forcing Stetson to call a timeout. Bellarmine continued to fight its way back into the frame, getting withing one at 20-19 but the Knights would only score two more points before Stetson claimed the set 25-21 to take a 3-1 win.

Up next, Bellarmine will take on its first ASUN road trip, traveling to Tennessee to take on Lipscomb and Austin Peay next weekend.

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