Box Score HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team opened its longest road stretch of the 2025 campaign on Friday night, falling 3-0 (25-27, 18-25, 20-25) to James Madison in the first match of the LD&B Insurance Invitational at JMU Convocation Center.

Juniors Natalie Bland and Erika Smith led Bellarmine's offensive effort in the match, tallying seven kills each. Bland added three digs, two blocks and two aces to her line as Smith turned in two blocks and hit .278 on the evening. Redshirt freshman Mya White registered six kills with four digs and an ace. Senior Kylie Van Hoy paced the offense with 22 assists, adding two kills, two digs and an ace while sophomore Payton Parsons led the defensive effort with a team-high nine digs.

Set 1
James Madison surged ahead quickly in the first set, taking a 7-2 lead as Bellarmine called an early timeout. The Knights settled in after the break, slowly climbing back into the set, getting within three at 12-9. From there, JMU continued to hold a steady lead until Bellarmine used a 6-2 run to vault within one, down just 17-16, and force the Dukes to use a timeout. The Knights were then able to score the first point of the break to even the score at 17-17. James Madison rallied from the tie, scoring three straight points to cause Bellarmine to use its second timeout. BU tied the stanza once again at 20-20 before the two teams traded points until the 24-24 mark when James Madison called its final timeout. Coming out of the break, the Dukes scored three of four points to claim the set 27-25.

Set 2
Just as they did in the first, the Dukes jumped ahead 7-3 in the second set. Bellarmine continued to fight, getting within one, down 14-13 before James Madison scored again to take a two-point, 15-13 lead into the media timeout. JMU continued to push the pace, never letting the Knights get closer than within two at 18-16 before running away with the second stanza 25-18.

Set 3
Bellarmine scored the first point to start the third set but James Madison responded quickly, surging ahead to 9-5 lead. The Dukes once again controlled the scoring up until the media break as Bellarmine ripped off four straight points to get within two, down 15-13. JMU regained the lead after the timeout, but the Knights kept fighting, tying the score at 17-17 before taking their first lead of the match 18-17. James Madison tied the set immediately however and rallied for a 4-0 run to take a late 21-18 lead as Bellarmine called a timeout. The Knights scored the first two points out of the break to get within one, down 21-20, but there wasn't enough time left for a rally as James Madison went on to score four straight points and clinch the match with a 25-20 win.

Up next, Bellarmine will take on both Princeton and Lehigh tomorrow, September 6 to wrap up play at the LD&B Insurance Invitational at JMU Convocation Center.
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