Volleyball Nearly Completes Comeback Against Valpo

VALPARAISO, Ind. -- A furious comeback attempt from the Belmont University volleyball team came up just short as the Bruins fell, 3-2, on the road at red-hot Valparaiso in Indiana on Saturday night. 

After dropping the first two sets in tight fashion, 23-25 and 21-25, Belmont (7-13, 3-4 MVC) refused to quit, getting hard-earned victories of 25-20 and 25-22 to force a decisive fifth set at ARC Arena in Valparaiso, Indiana. 

Valparaiso (17-2, 5-2 MVC), winners of 17 of their first 19 matches and tied for the national lead in victories, edged out Belmont, 15-9 in the fifth frame to get the win. 

"That was a very good Valpo team," head coach Katelyn Harrison said. "I'm proud of the fight and the way we came out different than last night. We had better production from multiple players, and overall played well against a very good and refined team." 

On the road and playing their second match in as many nights against one of the top teams in the Valley, the Bruins refused to back down after barely dropping the first two sets, roaring back and winning the next two frames on the back of stout defense. 

Belmont was able to hold the Beacons to .143 hitting, in part because of the play of junior libero Rachel McBride, who smashed her career-high for digs, tallying an incredible 37 on the night, the second-most in a match in program history and the most since Jamie Lundstrom tallied 40 in 2011. 

"Overall our defense did a great job and Rachel [McBride] made some big stops throughout the match," Harrison said. 

In addition to McBride in the back row, Belmont showed out in the front row as well, tallying a remarkable 15.0 total blocks on the evening, their most in a single match since November 16, 2017. 

Sydney Willis tallied eight block assists to spearhead the charge at the net, tying her career-high, while Kristen Clemons added six block assists and one solo block. 

Offensively, Laura Shoopman finished with a team-high 16 kills, while Clemons added 13 and Lauren Walsh chipped in a crucial 13. 

"I thought Lauren [Walsh] was a huge spark plug for us and had some big moments," Harrison said. 

Peyton O'Brien ended her evening with 43 assists, the seventh time the sophomore has eclipsed 40 digs in a match this season. 

Shoopman ended with 19 digs and O'Brien with 17 digs to complete their double-doubles. 

Belmont's response in the third set after falling behind 0-2 was huge, as they tallied six total blocks and committed just four attack errors to prolong the match with a 25-21 win. 

In the fourth, five kills from Shoopman highlighted a balanced attack in which five Bruins tallied multiple kills on the way to a 25-22 victory that pushed the highly-touted Beacon team to the precipice. 

Up Next 

Belmont will continue their stretch of road games with visits to Southern Illinois and Missouri State next weekend. The Bruins will take on Southern Illinois in Carbondale, Illinois, on Friday, October 14, at 6 p.m., before facing Missouri State in Springfield, Missouri, on Saturday, October 15, at 5 p.m. 

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