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Belmont (4-11, 2-3 OVC) vs. SIUE (4-12, 1-4 OVC) | Friday, Oct. 8 | 6pm

ESPN+ | Live Stats | Match Notes

Belmont (4-11, 2-3 OVC) vs. SIUE (4-12, 1-4 OVC) | Saturday, Oct. 9 | 2pm

ESPN+ | Live Stats

First Community Arena | Edwardsville, Ill.

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Belmont University volleyball continues their longest conference road trip of the season with a pair of matches against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville this weekend in Edwardsville, Illinois. 

Belmont first faces SIUE on Friday, Oct. 8, at 6 p.m. inside First Community Arena, before turning around and taking on the Cougars again at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9. 

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available. 

What's Bruin 

• Belmont will look to shake off a pair of tough losses last weekend at the hands of Southeast Missouri. Belmont fell 0-3 and 0-3 on the road to the Redhawks. 

• At 2-3 in conference play, the Bruins are still right in the thick of a crowded OVC race, with only two teams unbeaten through the first handful of games (Austin Peay and Tennesee Tech) 

• Belmont's win over UT Martin back on Sept. 24 at home looks even bigger in the rearview mirror, as the Skyhawks have won each of their last four OVC matches to improve to 4-1 in conference action 

• The Bruins will be looking for their first road victory of the season this weekend, as they have won four of their six matches inside the Curb Event Center while still trying to find footing outside of Nashville 

• The Bruins are in the middle of a five match OVC road trip, their longest of the season. After finishing up the trip with a contest against Tennessee State next Tuesday, the Bruins will not have more than two road matches in a row the rest of the season. 

• Belmont continues to get consistent production out of Kailee Bass, who ranks seventh in the OVC in blocks per set (0.94) 

• Freshman middle blocker Grace Evans made her collegiate debut last Saturday against SEMO and recorded her first career kill. As she continues to work her way back from injury, Evans looks to be another talented piece at Coach Katelyn Harrison's disposal 

• Senior outside hitter Taylor Floyd ranks inside the top ten in the OVC for kills (142), kills per set (2.84), and points per set (3.31) 

• The setter duo of Carly Mason and Izzy Schauer continues to be a position group of strength for the Bruins. Mason is currently averaging 5.23 assists per set, while Schauer averages 6.19 assists per set

About the Cougars 

• SIUE was picked to finish fourth in the OVC Preseason Poll, but got out to a shaky 0-4 start in conference play before picking up a 3-1 win over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday night 

• The Cougars faced Oregon State, UAB, Xavier, and Colorado State, among others in a tough non-conference slate 

• SIUE is looking to get their normally reliable defense back on track. The Cougars led the OVC in both digs and blocks last season, and were in the top five for opponent hitting percentage. This fall, however, SIUE is last in digs and last in opponent hitting percentage. 

• Annie Ellis is currently 3rd in the OVC in blocks per set (1.16) 

Series History 

• SIUE has won seven of the nine all-time matchups between the Bruins and Cougars.  

• The Bruins have yet to beat the Cougars in Evansville. 

• SIUE won both contests last spring, beating Belmont 3-1 and 3-1 in the Curb Event Center in the first two matches of the shortened Spring 2021 season 

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.      

#ItsBruinTime