Box Score
CHICAGO, Ill. -- Belmont University volleyball dropped their final match of the UIC Invitational on Saturday, falling in straight sets, 3-0, to Eastern Michigan at the Flames Athletic Center.
Eastern Michigan won 25-20, 25-18, 25-19 to earn their fourth win of the season. Belmont fell to 2-4 with the loss.
"Overall, we played a tough and confident Eastern Michigan team," Belmont head coach Katelyn Harrison said. "They bounced back last night to beat a very good UIC team and kept that momentum going into today."
One night after dominating Chicago State at the net with 22.0 total blocks, the Bruins couldn't get much going against a tough Cougar offense, getting out-blocked 17.0 to 9.0.
In the first set, Belmont mounted a furious comeback after trailing 19-11 to cut the score to just 23-20 in favor of Eastern Michigan. A big reason for the hot Belmont stretch was the play of Bass, who at one point picked up three straight kills. The senior middle blocker ended with five total kills in the set, a season-high for the Aurora, Ill., native.
"Kailee did a great job this weekend," Harrison said. "She worked really hard to do everything we asked of her, and she made a huge difference when she was on the floor."
That first-set deficit was just a little too much for the Bruins to overcome, however, as the rally fizzled out to a 25-20 Eagles set win.
The second frame saw Belmont get as close as 16-13, but Eastern Michigan closed out the set strong, a theme from throughout the afternoon. The Eagles hit .352 for the match, including a terrific .438 in the second set alone.
In the final set, Eastern Michigan held the Bruins at bay despite timely points picked up by Ally Peterson and Sydney Willis. Belmont continued to scratch and claw to stay in the mix, but Eastern Michigan held on for the sweep.
"We struggled to capitalize on opportunities that we worked hard to earn, and that is something we need to continue to work on," Harrison said.
Belmont has a much-anticipated Battle of the Boulevard date with Lipscomb on Tuesday, Sept. 14. The match, at Allen Arena on Lipscomb's campus, will be streamed on ESPN+. The Bruins lead the all-time series with the Bisons, 26-18.
