Box Score RICHMOND, Ky.- Belmont volleyball (5-8, 1-0 OVC) opened conference play with a three set victory against Eastern Kentucky (1-15, 0-1 OVC). Despite a slow start the Bruins battled back taking three straight sets 26-24, 25-16 and 25-21 for their first OVC win of the season.
The Bruins started the match out slowly, falling to a 10-17 deficit against the Colonels. Belmont turned the momentum going on an 8-1 run which tied the match up at 18 apiece. The run was highlighted by two service aces from Price and a handful of errors by Eastern Kentucky. The teams would battle point for point until Ivancich closed out the set at the service line.
Set two was a different ball game for the Bruins; they took the momentum from set one and kept rolling with it. Belmont's largest lead of the set was 11 points, and the team went on to finish the set with 17 kills. Four players recorded set-high hitting percentages: Youngdahl at .600, Lewis at .556, Person at .500 and freshman Maggie Mullins (Nashville, Tenn.). Belmont dug 21 balls in set two.
Set three was a tug-of-war in points until the bitter end. The Bruins recorded another 11 kills in the set including four from Person and two apiece from Lewis and Price. The Bruins shut it down at the net with team blocks. Youngdahl had part in all five of the blocks while Price continued four.Eastern Kentucky took a 17-13 lead but it didn't scare the Bruins. BU went on a 6-2 run highlighted by an ace by senior Regan Kennamer (Huntsville, Ala.) that tied the set up at 19. Belmont took control at that point to close out set three 25-21 behind a kill by redshirt freshman Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.).
Senior Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) finished the evening with six kills with an average of .462 as well as six total blocks. Sophomore Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) tallied up 13 kills while sophomore Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.) also recorded double-digit kills with 11. The defensive duo of sophomore Emily Richards (Penfield, N.Y.) and sophomore Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) led the defensive with 14 and 13 digs respectively. Sophomore Emma Price (Fort Mill, SC) dished out 26 assists along with two assists.
Belmont returns to action tomorrow evening in Morehead, Ky. at 4:00 pm CT. There will be live stats available on belmontbruins.com but due to a Morehead football game there will be no video feed for the match.
