PENSACOLA, Fla. — West Florida rallied to defeat the Bellarmine University volleyball team 3-2 on Friday night in Atlantic Sun Conference play at PenAir Field House.
Bellarmine (9-8, 3-3 ASUN) twice went up a set on West Florida (11-3, 3-1) after winning the first 25-22 and the third 25-21. The Argos answered each time, claiming the second set 25-19 and the fourth 25-18, following the latter with a 15-9 clincher.
Bellarmine made a huge comeback in the first set. The Knights trailed 17-22 before rattling off eight straight points to claim the set. Freshman
Maddie Carnes secured the frame with a service ace, one of her match-high five in the contest.
West Florida jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the second set and eventually built a 19-9 advantage. Bellarmine made it interesting with a 6-0 run, but the Argos regrouped to even it up.
Although it got tight at the end, Bellarmine largely owned the third set. Once again with Carnes serving, the Knights had a big run with six straight points — a pair on service aces — to carve out a 14-7 lead. The advantage was at 22-14 when West Florida made a late push to get within three, but sophomore
Mya White locked up the set with a kill.
West Florida bolted out to a 10-4 lead in the fourth set. The Knights were within 12-16 when the Argos pulled away for good with a 3-0 run.
West Florida raced out to a 9-4 lead in the fifth set. The Knights battled back to within 9-12 and initially appeared to claim the ensuing point on a long kill attempt by the Argos, but it was ruled a touch on Bellarmine and upheld on video review. UWF secured the win after claiming the next two points, with Emily Breazeale standing out behind a match-high 19 kills.
In addition to her five service aces, Carnes amassed 41 assists and 12 digs for her eighth double-double. Senior
Natalie Bland notched 13 kills and freshman
Mady Yaden added 10. In her return from injury, senior
Erika Smith recorded nine kills and five blocks. Sophomore
Mary Herman also had nine kills while junior
Payton Parsons collected 18 digs.
Bellarmine will play at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday at Queens.
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