Box Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Belmont University won their third straight match on Saturday, taking down Eastern Illinois, 3-1, inside the Curb Event Center.
The Bruins won 25-22, 17-25, 25-20, and 25-22 to secure their fourth victory in the last five matches. Belmont (8-12, 6-4 OVC) is now 6-2 at home this season.
Lauren Walsh and Laura Shoopman were the offensive engines for the Bruins on Saturday, tallying 15 kills each. Both outside hitters made the most of their swings, with Shoopman hitting an outstanding .312 and Walsh hitting .267. The Bruins hit .219 as a team in the match, their highest mark over the last eight matches.
One of the main reasons for the stellar afternoon offensively was the play of Belmont's senior setter, Carly Mason. One night after recording 47 assists in a five-set thriller, Mason picked up 46 assists to guide the Bruin attack.
Sophomore libero Rachel McBride recorded 25 digs in the victory, her second-highest total of the season.
"It's good to win, it's good to win matches in a row, it's good to win at home, it's good to win both Friday and Saturday, and it's good to win all this week," head coach Katelyn Harrison said. "It's just been a good week."
Belmont began the match much more sound than they did in Friday's nailbiter. The Bruins took the first set, 25-22, thanks to a monster performance from Shoopman, who picked up seven kills on ten swings to lead the home side to a 1-0 set advantage.
Eastern Illinois struck back in the second set with a 25-18 win, signaling that the Panthers were ready to make the match ugly the way they did in Friday's night thriller.
Thanks to some lineup adjustments that included the insertion of sophomore middle blocker Sydney Willis, the Bruins began to find success hindering the Panther attack with some emphatic blocks that allowed Belmont to pick up some momentum.
"I thought that the mindset was positive on the sideline—I think they're a mature team and understand that at times, each person has different strengths, and sometimes you got to make that change," Harrison said. "I thought Sydney went in and did a really great job blocking for us, and really helped kind of change the feel of what they were able to do because of how big her block was, so I thought that was a huge positive."
Willis finished with four block assists on her birthday, a big reason why the Bruins tallied 10.0 total team blocks.
Belmont took the third set, 25-20, and came back in the fourth set from down 15-10 and 19-17 to secure the match with a 25-22 set win.
"Obviously I still think we have to clean it up for Austin Peay this weekend, being at the top of the conference," Harrison said, "but we've got a whole week ahead of us to train, and it's good to get that full week of focus and intentionality and get their bodies recovered and move on."
With the six conference wins, Belmont now has their most OVC wins since 2017.
Belmont will take the trip to Clarksville, Tenn., next weekend to face Austin Peay on Friday, Oct. 22, at 6 p.m. and on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m. The Governors currently sit atop the OVC standings with an 8-1 conference record. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+
Follow Belmont volleyball on social media - @BelmontVB on Twitter and @belmontvball on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
