Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont volleyball notched its first road victory of the season Tuesday evening as the Bruins came back from a set down at Tennessee State to capture the final three sets and push their way to their second-straight victory (18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-19).
Belmont (6-10, 2-1 OVC) displayed some rust early on as Tennessee State used an 8-0 run midway through the first stanza to pull ahead, 18-10. The Bruins could only trim the Tiger lead to five points the rest of the way as TSU captured the opening set, 25-18.
The Bruins found themselves ahead, 16-13, in the second stanza before three-straight TSU points tied the set. The two teams traded the next eight points as the two teams still found themselves knotted at 20.
Belmont separated itself the rest of the way as BU recorded five of the next eight points as a kill by Maddison Croft (Edwardsville, Ill.) ended the set in the Bruins' favor, 25-23.
The third set was a closely fought battle through most of the stanza as a kill by TSU's Arijana Anderson tied the match at 18.
The Bruins responded in a big way, tallying seven of the next nine points in order to take the set, 25-20.
TSU came out hot offensively to start the fourth set as the Tigers jumped out to an early advantage, 10-5.
The Bruins still found themselves trailing, 13-10, before tallying seven of the next eight points in order to take the lead, 17-14.
TSU (6-11, 1-2 OVC) wouldn't go away quietly, however, as the Tigers recorded four of the next five points to tie the set at 18.
That would prove to be the final tie of the set as Belmont quickly seized control and rallied off six-straight points to set up match point, 24-18.
After a TSU kill by Naomi Wells, a Tiger attack error proved to be the final point of the match as the Bruins rallied to defeat their crosstown rivals in four sets.
A pair of Bruins led the way, as both produced their third double-double in the last four matches as outside hitter Arianna Person (Lenexa Kan.) paced Belmont offensively with an 18 kill, 12 dig performance and rookie setter Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) finished with 43 assists to go with 10 digs.
Senior Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) finished with a match-best seven blocks, including one solo attempt, while Croft led the Bruins with a .368 attack percentage, hammering down eight kills on 19 attempts.
The Bruins return to action this Saturday as Belmont travels to Eastern Illinois for a 2 p.m. contest with the Panthers
