Volleyball Defeats Evansville in Curb Classic

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Belmont University volleyball team earned a gritty, signature win on Friday night, taking down Evansville, 3-2, in an instant classic at the Curb Event Center. 

Belmont (6-11, 2-2 MVC) defeated the Purple Aces, 25-21, 25-27, 26-24, 24-26, 15-10 for their second straight Missouri Valley Conference victory. 

It marks the first conference loss for Evansville (5-12, 2-1 MVC), who was out to a 2-0 start in MVC action for the first time since 2000. 

Kristen Clemons finished with 16 kills on .303 hitting, while Lauren Walsh added a season-high 15 kills on a .314 attack percentage.  

Peyton O'Brien facilitated the offense to the tune of 43 assists with 17 digs, adding nine kills to flirt with triple-double territory. 

Laura Shoopman tallied nine kills with a season-high 23 digs, while Rachel McBride picked up a season-high 21 digs.  

Six blocks from Sydney Willis helped set the tone up front for the Bruins' net defense, which collected nine blocks in all. 

The back-and-forth match saw 46 ties and 13 lead changes in all. 

The Bruins set the tone in the first set with a 25-21 win, getting four kills from Shoopman and breaking open a 21-21 tie with a 4-0 run that was capped with a block from Walsh and Willis. 

"I thought we did a really nice job," head coach Katelyn Harrison said. "In all of the games tonight we gave up a run at some point, and in the past month we probably would have folded on some of those runs, but tonight we were quick to flip them around and turn them in our favor." 

??? Hear from Coach Harrison after Friday's thrilling five-set win over Evansville!#ItsBruinTime pic.twitter.com/42MWuJgOna
— Belmont Volleyball (@BelmontVB) October 1, 2022
 

Evansville responded with a set win in the second frame, fending off ties of 20-20, 23-23, and 25-25 to even up the match, 27-25. 

From the third set on, Belmont had just six combined attack errors with 36 total kills, hitting .419 in the third, .323 in the fourth, and .368 in the fifth to power forward for the victory. 

After edging Evansville in the third set behind back-to-back points from Willis on a kill and a block to snap a 24-24 deadlock, Belmont appeared to be in position to win the match in four sets, rattling off an incredible 9-0 run after trailing 20-15 to lead, 24-20. 

However, facing four straight match points, Evansville battled back with a 6-0 run to win the frame, 26-24, and force a fifth set. 

Showing great resolve, the Bruins buckled down and jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the fifth set to force a Purple Ace timeout, then continued on towards a 15-10 victory that gave them their second straight conference win in less than a week. 

"That win at Murray State was huge," Harrison said. "We've had a really good week of practice and we started to see some different behaviors in the gym that we haven't seen before. Some of that carried into this tonight, we really had more confidence in our play and trusted our teammates, that they were going to take care of business, and it showed in really important moments." 

Up Next 

Belmont will look to extend their win streak when they welcome Indiana State to the Curb Event Center on Saturday, October 1. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. 

While the match will not be streamed, live stats will be available on BelmontBruins.com and in-game updates will be posted to Twitter by @BelmontVB.  

Tickets can be purchased 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.                      

#ItsBruinTime