NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont Volleyball prepares to open its final home stand of the regular season with a single contest this weekend. The Bruins (12-13, 7-6 OVC) host Eastern Illinois (12-12, 6-6 OVC) for a crucial OVC showdown on Saturday afternoon.
EIU makes the trip to Nashville, standing at .500 in both conference play and overall. The Panthers are led in kills by Maria Brown who has a total of 251. Taylor Smith leads the team in assists with a tally of 560. Defensive efforts are nearly split evenly between Laurel Bailey and Smith, who have recorded 250 and 247 digs, respectively.
Belmont holds a commanding 7-0 lead in the all-time series, which began in 2012.
BU stands at 12-13 overall and 7-6 in OVC play, after being held off at crosstown rival Tennessee State earlier this week.
Senior Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) leads the team in kills with a total of 344, after overtaking the top spot on the program's all-time kills list. Senior Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) leads the BU setter lineup with a total of 394 assists. Senior Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) heads up the defensive effort, logging 302 digs. Ivancich is followed by Person and senior Emily Richards (Penfield, N.Y.), who have contributed 233 and 187 digs, respectively.
Junior Alexa Nichols (Walton, Ky.) has tallied seven solo blocks and leads in block assists with a total of 67 while freshman Mackenzie LePage (Franklin, Tenn.) has posted 57 block assists. Graduate student Jessica Vestal (Concord, Calif.) and Ivancich lead the team in service aces with a total of 24 apiece, followed senior Brie Lewis (Stillwell, Kan.), who has tallied 21.
Saturday afternoon's contest is set to begin at 2 p.m. Live stats will be available and the match can be watched live on the OVC Digital Network. Fans may also follow the team's Twitter account (@BelmontVB) for live, in-game updates.
