LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University volleyball team opened its 2026 season on Friday night, taking on a power conference opponent in Rutgers in front of a lively crowd in Knights Hall.
In the battle of the Knights, the Scarlet Knights came out victorious with a 3-1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19) win.
Senior
Erika Smith led Bellarmine with a match-high 14 kills, swinging at a .407 clip (14-3-27). Redshirt sophomore
Mya White was close behind with 12 kills, hitting at an even more impressive .455 (12-2-22) clip. True freshman
Maddie Carnes saw her first collegiate action, running the Knights' offense with 28 assists, adding seven digs and a block assist. Junior
Payton Parsons, a Preseason All-ASUN selection, opened the year with a match-high tying 13 digs.
For Rutgers, Malia Romes led the way with 11 kills while hitting .300 with four blocks. Imani Howell was right behind with 10 kills, hitting a match-high .500 (10-1-18) while adding a match-high 7 blocks.
The Scarlet Knights jumped out to a commanding lead in the first set and held on the whole way for a 25-15 win. The second set was much more competitive from start to finish. Bellarmine jumped out to an early lead before the two teams traded points back and forth. Rutgers jumped ahead late in the scoring, but the Knights made one final push to retake the lead and secure the victory 25-22. The
Knights carried momentum into the third, starting off hot with a big lead. Rutgers battled back however and took a sizeable lead of its own. From there, the Scarlet Knights held fast and staved off another late run by Bellarmine to go up 2-1 with a 25-21 win. In the final set, both teams battled for a majority of the first half of scoring. After the 15-point media timeout, Rutgers took control and never looked back, taking the set 22-17 for a 3-1 match victory.
Up next, Bellarmine will continue its opening weekend at the Bellarmine Classic, hosting Purdue Fort Wayne and Evansville at 10 am and 6 pm E.T., respectively.
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