Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Belmont University volleyball team picked up a 3-1 win over Tennessee State on Senior Day on Sunday afternoon at the Curb Event Center.
Junior Taylor Floyd led the Bruins with 16 kills while coming up with nine digs. Freshman Izzy Schauer recorded a double-double of 46 assists and 10 digs while freshman Rachel McBride came up with 13 digs. Sophomore Laura Shoopman added 14 kills to go with a kill percentage of .448 while freshman Kristen Clemons recorded 12 kills in three sets.
Tennessee State jumped out to a 12-7 lead early in set one, but the Bruins went on a quick 4-0 run to cut the deficit to one. Belmont forced Tennessee State into three consecutive attack errors, taking a 14-13 lead in the process.
A kill from freshman Sydney Willis and a service ace from Schauer allowed the Bruins to take a two-point lead in set one, with the Bruins adding four consecutive points in order to take a 22-17 lead. Kills from senior Mackenzie Harless and Shoopman capped off a set one victory for Belmont, who claimed the first set 25-21.
After Tennessee State won set two 25-19, Belmont opened set three with three unanswered points to take the early lead. A kill and service ace from Schauer allowed the Bruins to take a quick 10-4 lead in set three, with three consecutive points by Tennessee State allowing the Tigers to cut the deficit in half.
The Bruins, however, strung together five of the next six points to push their lead back out 20-14. Tennessee State cut the Belmont lead 22-18 late in set three, but the Bruins cruised to a 25-18 set three victory thanks to an attack error, a kill from Clemons and a service ace from McBride on the final three plays of the set.
Following the Tigers snatching the first point of set four, Belmont answered back with five consecutive points to take an early 6-1 lead. Going back-and-forth through the first half of set four, kills from Harless and senior Halee Van Poppel along with a Tennessee State attack error allowed the Bruins to take a seven-point lead and only needed nine more points to claim the match.
Belmont extended their lead to as many as seven points in set four, with Belmont claiming the next four points out of the final five possessions to clinch the victory. The Bruins' 55 kills off a .234 kill percentage marked a season-high for Belmont in matches played at the Curb Event Center in 2021. The Bruins also recorded eight service aces, marking a new season-high and being the first time since Sept. 6, 2019 that the Bruins had at least eight service aces in a match.
Belmont (2-11) plays its home final match at the Curb Event Center for the 2021 season on Monday at 6 p.m. against Tennessee State and will be live streamed on ESPN+. Live stats will be available.
