Box Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Belmont University volleyball's thrilling comeback attempt fell just short on Friday night at the Curb Event Center, as Tennessee Tech held off the Bruins, 3-2, to thwart Belmont's bid for a reverse sweep.
After dropping the first two sets, 17-25 and 16-25, Belmont responded with wins of 25-20 and 25-19 to force a decisive Game 5. However, Tennessee Tech took the fifth set, 15-9, to secure their seventh straight victory over Belmont.
"I think that in Games 3 and 4, we definitely turned around the mood of the game and showed some spirit," head coach Katelyn Harrison said. "Obviously, though, I wished that we had played Games 1 and 2 more like 3 and 4, but I like the fact that we battled and we were able to turn around both the mood on the court and the momentum. Tennessee Tech is a good team, and I thought that in Games 3 and 4 we followed the gameplan much better."
Tennessee Tech jumped out to a hot start in the first set, leading 6-1 and 13-7 on the way to a 25-17 win. The Bruins committed a game-high seven attack errors and had four service errors to fall behind early.
In the second set, the Golden Eagles continued their strong play, holding Belmont to a .031 attack percentage with six attack errors. Tennessee Tech collected three more blocks on the way to a 25-16 win.
Belmont used the intermission to find their groove, coming out with a completely different energy to start the third set. Trailing 9-10, the Bruins got big kills from Floyd and Lauren Walsh to put together a 5-0 run to lead 14-10. Tennessee Tech would tie things at 17-17, but the Bruins responded with a 3-0 run to force a Golden Eagles timeout.
A kill from Shoopman and a big block from Sydney Willis punctuated a strong Bruin close, as Belmont won the set, 25-20.
Belmont kept their foot on the gas in the fourth set, this time with Bass leading the charge after four more kills. The Bruins got solo blocks from Shoopman and Willis to keep Tennessee Tech on edge, grabbing leads of 7-3 and 17-10 on their way to a decisive 25-19 win to tie the match at 2-2.
With the crowd at a fever pitch, Tennessee Tech took the first four points of the fifth set to regain their early-match form. Belmont battled back, but ended up falling, 15-9, to give Tennessee Tech their fourth straight win.
Belmont will get a rematch with Tennessee Tech on Saturday when they welcome the Golden Eagles to the Curb Event Center for an 11:30am start time in the regular season finale. Prior to first serve, the Bruins will be honoring their five seniors with Senior Day recognition.
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.
