Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont Volleyball fell to Lipscomb in another five set heartbreaker Tuesday evening. The Bisons would take both matches of the Battle of the Boulevard series this season. Sophomore Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) led the offense with 22 kills and only five errors on 39 attempts for an average of .436 along with two aces and 12 digs.
"It was really great to have this match because it is out of conference and gave the girls a chance to relax and have fun," said Head Coach Tony Howell. "We played them a lot closer this season losing both in five compared to last season losing in three."
A trio of players including senior Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.), redshirt freshman Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.) and freshman Maggie Mullins (Nashville, Tenn.) all recorded six kills on the evening. Sophomore Brie Lewis recorded nine kills and four blocks on the night while redshirt sophomore Emma Price (Fort Mill, SC) finished the evening with 49 assists. Sophomore Emily Richards (Penfield, N.Y.) led the defense with 13 digs on the evening.
A five point run early on in set one gave Belmont 12-6 lead. Belmont pushed with an aggressive offense and held onto the momentum as they earned another five-point run with Ivancich at the service line and took a double-digit lead 21-11. Belmont held onto their 10 point lead and closed out set one 25-15. With only two errors and 12 kills the Bruins hit for an average of .455.
The momentum turned in set two to the Bisons. The two squads battled point for point until a 12-4 run by the Bisons gave them the 20-10 advantage. In a complete role reversal the Bisons took offensive control in set two and finished it off 25-15.
Belmont and Lipscomb traded points for the first part of set three until a four point run by Lipscomb gave them a 13-9 lead. Belmont in turn retaliated with a three-point run to come within one of Lipscomb at 15-14. With the score at 20-23 Belmont went on a 6-1 run and took set three 26-24. Bruins once again hit for over .400 with 16 kills and only three errors.
The Bruins and the Bisons would play tug-of-war for points until a 4-1 run put Lipscomb up 13-10. The two squads would fight for points as well as leads, and despite a late set rally from the Bruins Lipscomb came out on top 25-20.
Fifth set proved to be no different then sets three and four as the two teams battled point for point. After the switch Lipscomb turned on the heat and with only a few kills from the Bruins Lipscomb closed out the match with a 15-11 victory.
"It was a great match and both teams played very well," said Howell. "Every match is a learning experience and we will take what we learned tonight, tweek our defense a little bit and do well the rest of conference."
Belmont will return home this weekend for another pair of conference games against University of Tennessee Martin and Southeast Missouri State University. First serve is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m. CT in the Curb Event Center.
