NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Belmont University volleyball team closed out their non-conference schedule in style on Friday, stringing together a pair of four-set wins over Bethune-Cookman and Alcorn State inside Kean Hall to finish their outing at the Tiger Invitational in Nashville.
Winners of three of their last four matches, Belmont (4-9, 0-0 MVC) now prepares for their first Missouri Valley Conference match in program history next weekend, a home bout with Missouri State on Friday at the Curb Event Center.
Belmont 3, Bethune-Cookman 1
In Friday morning's match against the Wildcats, a historic outing from Laura Shoopman and a slim win in a wild first set helped the Bruins cruise to a 38-36, 25-9, 22-25, 25-20 victory over Bethune-Cookman.
With her 27 kills on a remarkable .500 hitting percentage, Shoopman tied her career-high and finished with the second-most kills in a four-set match in program history.
The 27-kill outburst ties the eighth-most kills from a player in a four-set match in any contest across the country in NCAA Division I this year. On 46 swings, the junior had just four attack errors and also chipped in two service aces and six digs.
It marks the fifth time this year that Shoopman has eclipsed 20 kills, making her the first Bruin since Arianna Person in 2016 to have at least five 20-kill matches in a single season.
Belmont needed every one of her eight kills in the opening frame to come out on the right side of a wild 38-36 finish to a frame that saw 24 ties and ten lead changes.
The Bruins trailed 17-20, but rattled off a 3-0 run that was highlighted by a Brooke Gilleland kill and an Elizabeth Godfrey ace to tie things at 20-20. From there, neither team could pull two points in front of their opponent, with the drama ratcheting up to a big level before a Wildcat service error and another attack error gave Belmont the 38-36 opening win.
The Bruins breathed easier in the second set, hitting .500 with 13 kills on 22 swings and only two attack errors to coast to a 25-9 victory.
Bethune-Cookman struck back in the third game, hitting .355 to edge the Bruins, 25-22, despite eight more kills from Shoopman.
Belmont closed things out in the fourth set, as Peyton O'Brien distributed 12 of her 46 assists to make sure four Bruins ended with multiple kills as Belmont hit .519 to win the match with a 25-20 victory.
Belmont collected 7.0 blocks and 49 digs as a team.
Complementing Shoopman's dominating offensive performance was Kristen Clemons with 11 kills, Ally Peterson with ten kills, and Brooke Gilleland with nine kills.
Belmont 3, Alcorn State 1
Brooke Gilleland tallied a career-high 15 kills to help lead Belmont to a win over Alcorn State on Friday afternoon, 25-13, 20-25, 25-16, 25-14, in the Bruins' finale at the Tiger Invitational at Tennessee State.
Gilleland was one of three Bruins to finish with double-digit kills, joining Laura Shoopman, who collected 12 kills, nine digs, and five service aces, and Ally Peterson, who picked up 11 kills, seven digs, and a career-high six service aces.
As a unit, Belmont dominated from the service line to the tune of 14 aces, the most for the Bruins since 2016.
Rachel McBride led the defense with 19 digs.
The Bruins tallied 51 kills to the Braves' 32, and out-hit Alcorn State .223 to .093.
Alcorn State stayed within striking distance early on in the first set, with Belmont holding a slim 10-7 advantage before taking 15 of the next 21 points on the back of six Gilleland kills and a pair of Peterson aces.
Belmont stumbled in the second set, committing 13 attack errors to help Alcorn State even up the match at a set apiece with a 25-20 win.
However, the Bruins regained their early-match form in the third and fourth sets, hitting .276 and .365, respectively, to finish the match with 25-16 and 25-14 victories.
From Coach
Up Next
Belmont will return to the Curb Event Center for just their second home match of the season next Friday as they open up Missouri Valley Conference play with Missouri State. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m., and will be streamed on ESPN3.
Single-game and season tickets are available here.
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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