Volleyball Returns to Curb For Big Weekend Matches Against Evansville and Indiana State

Belmont (5-11, 1-2 MVC) vs. Evansville (5-11, 2-0 MVC) 

Friday, Sept. 30 | 6pm 

ESPN3 | Live Stats | Match Notes 

Belmont vs. Indiana State (2-8, 1-1 MVC) 

Saturday, Oct. 1 | 5pm 

Live Stats 

Curb Event Center | Nashville, Tennessee 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Fresh off their first-ever Missouri Valley Conference win in program history on Tuesday night, the Belmont University volleyball team returns to the Curb Event Center this weekend for a pair of contests against two MVC opponents from the Hoosier State. 

In a match that will be streamed on ESPN3, Belmont hosts Evansville on Friday evening at 6 p.m., before taking on Indiana State at the Curb for the second straight season on Saturday at 5 p.m. 

Live stats will be available on BelmontBruins.com, and in-game updates will be posted to Twitter by @BelmontVB. 

Tickets for both matches can be purchased here. 

What's Bruin 

• Friday's win over Murray State was one of the signature victories of the year, a four-set triumph over a former OVC rival that also served as the first Missouri Valley Conference win in program history 

• After dropping the opening set, 22-25, the Bruins responded by taking each of the next three frames, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20 

• It marked the first road win for Belmont at Murray State since the Bruins took down a 27-1 Racer team in the OVC Tournament Championship game in 2015 to book their ticket to their fourth NCAA Tournament 

• Laura Shoopman finished with 15 kills against Murray State and is currently eighth in the country in kills (241), while leading the MVC 

• Kristen Clemons was one of three Bruins to reach double-digit kills on Tuesday night, picking up 11  

• Brooke Gilleland has finished with double-digit kills in each of the last four matches, including tallying 12 on Tuesday night against the Racers 

• Peyton O'Brien finished with a career-high 50 assists and a career-high 17 digs against Southern Illinois last Saturday, helping Belmont hit .296 on the evening, their third-highest mark of the season  

• Belmont tallied 11 blocks on Tuesday, their second-most in a match this season 

• Sydney Willis finished with six blocks against  last Saturday against Southern Illinois, and had a stretch of three straight blocks to boost Belmont to a tight 28-26 win in the third set  

• Ally Peterson is currently tied for second in the Missouri Valley in service aces (21) 

• Belmont will have played four of their first five conference matches at the Curb Event Center, with the lone road contest taking place on Tuesday at Murray State  

• Belmont has now played in three five-set matches this fall and gone 1-2, with a win over Georgia State and losses to Middle Tennessee and Southern Illinois  

• Belmont, Murray State, and UIC are the three new members of the Missouri Valley Conference, with Belmont and Murray State joining from the Ohio Valley Conference and UIC coming over from the Horizon League 

About the Purple Aces 

• Evansville is out to a 2-0 start to league play for the first time since 2000 

• The Purple Aces took down both previously undefeated Valparaiso and Bradley at home last weekend, with both matches ending in four sets 

• Evansville was picked to finish second in the MVC Preseason Coaches' Poll but started the season 3-11 before rebounding with last weekend's big victories 

• Alondra Vaquez is 10th in the country on the active kills list, with 1,573 career kills. Vaquez is also one of two players in the Valley in the 1,000 kill/1,000 dig club 

• Melanie Feliciano is 46th in the country on the active kills list, with 1,211 kills 

• Friday marks the 13th matchup all-time between Belmont and Evansville, with the series tied, 6-6. 

• The two teams last met in 2014, with Belmont winning, 3-2, at the Curb Event Center. The Bruins and Sycamores first clashed in 1997. 

About the Sycamores 

• Indiana State went 1-1 over opening weekend in conference play, taking down Bradley, 3-1, before being swept by Illinois State at home 

• The Sycamores are 1-7 away from Terre Haute this season 

• Melina Tidrow became Indiana State's all-time leader in career digs last weekend, and now owns 1,844 career digs, tenth-most among active players in NCAA Division I 

• Belmont and Indiana State clashed for the first time last season with a non-conference tilt at the Curb Event Center on September 4, with the Sycamores winning, 25-13, 20-25, 25-22, 25-20.  

• Laura Shoopman tallied 14 kills for the Bruins in the loss, while Rachel McBride finished with a season-high 26 digs 

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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