Volleyball Falls in Four Sets To Valparaiso

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- On a night where Rachel McBride became the latest Bruin to eclipse 1,000 career digs, the Belmont University volleyball team fell in four sets, 3-1, to Valparaiso at the Curb Event Center on Friday. 

McBride entered the match needing 13 digs to become the first player since Ellie Ivancich in 2017 to collect 1,000 for her career, and ended with 23 on the night, her second-most in a single match this year and the most since she tallied 37 against Valparaiso on the road on October 8. 

Despite the standout performance for the junior Bruin libero, Valparaiso (20-6, 8-6 MVC) took down Belmont (7-20, 3-11 MVC), 25-21, 25-22, 19-25, 25-16. 

Kristen Clemons led the Bruins with 13 kills on .462 hitting with only one attack error, adding three blocks. 

Laura Shoopman finished with 13 kills and four digs, while Brooke Gilleland added 12 kills. 

Peyton O'Brien finished with 43 assists, helping Belmont hit .232 for the match. It marks the eighth time the sophomore has tallied at least 40 assists in a match this season. 

"I thought the team came out strong, fighting," head coach Katelyn Harrison said. "We played pretty confident through three sets. We haven't been playing very well the last couple weeks, but we've also faced the top of the conference, so it was nice to see them come in tonight and just battle. Obviously, we weren't super clean in the fourth, but we showed moments of what we're capable of doing, and hopefully that builds the confidence of the underclassmen that are here that we can be a force to be reckoned with when we play consistent." 

Belmont hung tough with Valparaiso throughout the first frame, getting eight kills from Shoopman and Clemons to go point-for-point with the Beacons, tying things at 14-14 and 20-20 before Valparaiso took five of the final six points and won the first set, 25-21. 

In the second frame, McBride recorded 11 of her 23 digs, including the 1,000th of her career, to keep Belmont close once again. An Ally Peterson kill cut things to a 17-19 deficit and forced a Valpo timeout. Again, the Beacons closed strong, edging out the Bruins 25-22. 

1?0?0?0? career digs for Rachel!@rachelmcbride | #ItsBruinTime pic.twitter.com/aP02nvNKbU
— Belmont Volleyball (@BelmontVB) November 5, 2022
 

"Rachel [McBride] is a special player," Harrison said. "She's a good leader, a good captain, and she brings the culture. She's someone that goes for everything and we have to call her off and she takes out chairs and jumps into the bleachers. For me to watch her grow from freshman year to now, it's been really special." 

Belmont put together one of their best sets of the season in the third frame, hitting .500 as a team with 16 kills and only one attack error, rolling to a 25-19 win to force a fourth set. Four kills each from Shoopman, Gilleland, and Clemons and three total blocks helped the Bruins jump out early and prolong the match. 

Valparaiso rallied in the fourth set, taking the match with a 25-16 win. 

Up Next 

Belmont will face UIC on Saturday at 5 p.m. back at the Curb Event Center for Senior Day. 

Raegan Phillips and Lauren Walsh, the Bruins' two seniors, will be honored following the conclusion of the action. 

The match will be streamed on ESPN3, and live stats will be carried on BelmontBruins.com. In-game updates will be posted to Twitter by @BelmontVB. 

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.               

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