Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn.- The Belmont volleyball team lost its Friday night match to the UT Martin Skyhawks 3-0 (26-28, 16-25, 18-25) at the Curb Event Center.
Halee Van Poppel led the Bruins with a double double of 13 kills and 11 digs, with Mary Catherine Ball adding 11 kills and Taylor Floyd coming up with 10 kills for Belmont's attack. Setters Akia Warrior and Carly Mason led Belmont with 18 assists each.
After going back-and-forth in the first set with a 14-14 tie, Ball and Floyd collected two consecutive kills to put the Bruins in front by two. UT Martin retook the lead with three kills of their own, setting themselves up for set point three times.
Kills from Ball and Floyd in addition to a Skyhawks' service error pushed the set to a 26-26 tie, but UT Martin strung together two straight points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
A kill from Van Poppel gave Belmont a quick 3-2 lead in set two, but UT Martin came up with three straight points to regain the advantage. Holding a three-point lead later in the set, the Skyhawks rallied with a 6-0 scoring run to move ahead by nine. UT Martin ended set two scoring the final four points from two kills and two attack errors to grab a 2-0 lead on the match.
Ball's early kill in set three tied the score 5-5, but the Skyhawks scored three straight points to once again retake the lead. Belmont climbed its way back into the set early, tying it up 9-9 off kills from Addison Conley and Ball.
With the set tied 12-12, UT Martin captured nine of the next 10 points to burst out to a 20-13 lead. Belmont rallied with three straight points on UT Martin's match point opportunity, but the Skyhawks closed out the set and the match by forcing an attack error.
Belmont continues its OVC homestand on Saturday, facing SEMO at the Curb Event Center at 2 p.m.
