Box Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- For the second time in less than 16 hours, Belmont University volleyball pushed Tennessee Tech to the brink in a five-set thriller, only to come up a few points short on Saturday afternoon inside the Curb Event Center.
One day after nearly pulling off a reverse sweep of the Golden Eagles, Belmont fell 25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 27-25, 13-15 to close out the regular season.
The Bruins (9-19, 7-11 OVC) led 12-10 in the fifth set, but Tennessee Tech (16-13, 11-7 OVC) ended the match on a 5-1 run.
Belmont out-blocked Tennessee Tech 8.0 to 6.0 and out-hit the Golden Eagles .329 to .304. The .329 mark is by far the best percentage for the Bruins this season, eclipsing the previous best of .256 set in a win over Murray State earlier this year.
In the first set, the Bruins got off to a great start offensively, hitting .355 in the frame with only three attack errors. Despite five service errors in the set, Belmont jumped out to leads of 15-11 and 17-21, holding off one last Tennessee Tech surge for a 25-23 win.
In the second set, Belmont stayed hot, hitting .333 with only two attack errors. The Bruins jumped out to a 4-1 lead on a Floyd kill, but the Golden Eagles would strike back with a 5-1 run later in the set to lead 16-12. Belmont would tie things at 20-20, but Tennessee Tech took five of the last seven points to win, 25-22.
The third frame saw Tennessee Tech hit over .300 for the third straight time, while Belmont dipped in their efficiency down to a .206 mark. Tennessee Tech would lead 12-7 before the Bruins erupted on a 5-1 run to cut it to a 13-12 deficit. However, the Golden Eagles found their rhythm again on the way to a 21-14 lead and a 25-18 win, pushing their set advantage to 2-1.
Needing a win to stay alive, Belmont came up big with an extra-point thriller in the fourth set, taking down Tennessee Tech 27-25 to force a fifth frame. The Bruins got four kills each from Ball and Shoopman to help power the offense, while Walsh added two blocks to help Belmont edge out the visitors in a tight set.
In the decisive fifth set, the Bruins got kills from six different players on the way to a commanding 12-10 lead.
However, Tennessee Tech used one last 5-1 run to clinch the match, 15-13.
Belmont will next prepare for the OVC Championship, which will take place November 18-20 on the campus of the No. 1 seed. The bracket for the tournament will be complete following the conclusion of all five OVC matches on Saturday.
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.
