Volleyball drops five-set heartbreak to SIUE as multiple Knights set new career-highs

EDWARDSVILLE, Il. – A career-day for multiple Knights was not enough to push Bellarmine volleyball past SIUE in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss on Saturday afternoon. Sophomores Natalie Bland and Maddie Hagan, along with junior Kylie Van Hoy and freshman Payton Parsons all achieved new career-high marks in what was an exciting battle from start to finish.
 
Playing in their first five-set match of the season, Bellarmine showed a ton of heart. The Knights dropped a close first set 25-22 before bouncing back with a 25-19 win in set two. Out of the intermission, Bellarmine stayed up to the challenge and won the third set 25-22 before SIUE took the fourth set 25-19 and forced a fifth set. Both Bellarmine and SIUE battled to the very end, but the Knights were unable to overcome a late Cougar push, falling 23-21 in a heartbreaking loss.
 
Bland led the Knights’ attack, racking up a career-best 28 kills, tied for the sixth most in program history, adding a .258 hitting percentage, eight digs, an assist and a block to her line. Hagan also set a new high-water mark in kills, notching 18 in the match, contributing a new career-best five block assists as well. Van Hoy nearly carded her first triple-double of the season, tallying a career-high 47 assists while tying her career-high with 17 digs, adding seven kills, a block and an ace. Parsons, who made her first career start, recorded 30 digs in the match, shattering her previous high of 10.
 
The Knights also received valuable contributions from junior Tessa Nauert and grad student Mara Perry on defense, recording 13 and 10 digs respectively. For Nauert, the 13 digs tied her career high. On offense, sophomore Erika Smith and fifth-year senior Addison Foote tallied seven kills each, one shy of tying a career-high for Smith.
 
With the loss, Bellarmine moves to 2-7 on the year. For the Cougars, the win improves their record to 3-6.
 
Set 1
Bellarmine jumped out to a quick 6-3 lead in the opening set. SIUE found its footing soon after, evening the score at 9-9. From there, neither team was able to take much of an advantage as BU took a 15-14 lead into the media timeout. The Cougars struck first out of the break before turning in a 3-0 run to jump ahead 19-17 as Bellarmine used its first timeout of the stanza. SIUE once again scored first out of the break and continued to maintain control as the Knights called their final timeout, down three at 23-20. Bellarmine was able to bounce back and take the first point following the timeout but would not be able to overcome SIUE in the first as the Cougars claimed their final two points to take a 25-22 victory and a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Set 2
The Knights scored the first two points in set two, but SIUE soon took hold with a 6-4 lead. Bellarmine wouldn’t stay down long though as the Knights rallied for five straight points to retake the lead at 9-6. Bellarmine continued to push the pace, extending its lead to five as the Knights won the race to 15, up 15-10 at the media break. The timeout didn’t slow the Knights as BU took the first two points of play to push the lead to seven at 17-10. SIUE continued to battle, getting back within three, down 20-17 late in the set. From there, the Knights made another push, this one for keeps, as they went on a 5-2 run to close out the match and take a 25-19 win and even the match 1-1.
 
Set 3
Momentum stayed in Bellarmine’s favor in the beginning of set three as the Knights jumped out to a 4-1 lead. The Cougars rallied, as they had done multiple times before, to even the score 8-8-. The Knights answered the rally with one of their own, going on a 5-2 run to retake a three-point lead at 13-10. SIUE followed with a big answer of its own, turning in five straight points to overcome the deficit and take a 15-13 lead into the media timeout. The Cougars continued the attack out of the break, scoring two of three points as Bellarmine used its first timeout of the stanza. The break proved fruitful as the Knights came out on a mission, going on a 5-1 run to retake the lead 19-18 as the Cougars called their first timeout of the set. SIUE took the first point out of the break to tie the game, but Bellarmine continued to attack, scoring four of the next six points to jump ahead 23-21 and force the Cougars to use their final timeout. The damage was done however as BU scored the final two points it needed for a 25-22 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Set 4
In set four, SIUE took the early advantage, using a 4-0 run for a 5-1 lead. The Knights clawed their way back into the set when they tied the score 10-10. From there, the teams traded points back-and-forth until the Cougars claimed their 15^th point of the set and took a one-point lead into the media timeout, up 15-14. Bellarmine scored the first point out of the break to even the score 15-15, but SIUE followed with a 3-0 run to jump back in front 18-15 as BU called its first timeout. The Knights rallied for three of the first points out of the break to get back within one, down 19-18, but the rally was thwarted by the Cougars as they ripped off a 6-1 run to claim the set 25-19 and even the match 2-2.
 
Set 5
The fifth and final set was all Bellarmine out of the gate as the Knights took an early 5-2 lead and forced SIUE to call its first timeout. In the shortened set, BU won the race to eight, holding an 8-4 lead as the teams switched sides. The Cougars wouldn’t go down without a fight, scratching their way back into the stanza, cutting the Bellarmine lead to two at 11-9 as the Knights used their first timeout. SIUE continued its rally out of the break, scoring back-to-back points to even the score at 11-11 and force BU to use its final timeout of the match. The Knights bounced back out of the break, scoring back-to-back points of their own to retake the lead at 13-11 as SIUE used its final timeout of the match. From there, excitement was abundant as the match went back-and-forth. Bellarmine and SIUE combined for seven match points, pushing well past the 15-point winning mark as the Knights and Cougars battled to the end, ultimately resulting in a 23-21 win for the Cougars.