Volleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller to Secure Spot in MVC Tournament

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont University Volleyball Program (13-19, 7-11 MVC) topped Murray State (13-14, 6-11 MVC) in regular season finale. With the Bruin's win, Belmont secured a spot in the MVC Tournament for the first time since joining the conference. 
 
How it Happened
 
Set one was a battle from the start. A kill from Sydney Willis gave the Bruins an early 10-7 lead. Both teams continued to trade aggressive swings as the set went on. Brooke Gilleland had the hot hand for Belmont with eight kills. The Bruin's strong offense pushed Belmont to a 25-21 set one win.
 
The second set was another back-and-forth battle. A kill from Laura Shoopman sparked a 3-0 run for the Bruins at 12-10. Murray State then went on their own run to reclaim the lead. A kill from Willis and an ace by Elizabeth Godfrey brought Belmont within one at 18-19. Despite the late run, the Racers went on to take the set 21-25. 
 
The Bruins started off strong in set three. Izzy Schauer served up an ace to push Belmont's lead to 6-1. Belmont continued their hot start with a 3-0 run capped off by a kill from Willis to take a 16-13 lead. Murray State later went on a run to reclaim the lead and edge out the Bruins 23-25 in set three.
 
Set four went down to the wire. Belmont put together a 4-0 run with kills from Shoopman and Willis to give the Bruins a 19-15 lead over the Racers. The rest of the set was an all-out battle. Ally Peterson came up with a huge block to give Belmont a late edge at 24-23. The Racers would counter with a big swing to push the set to extra points. With a kill from Clemons, the Bruins took set four 26-24 to force a deciding fifth set. 
 
Belmont had a strong performance in set five. The Bruins went on a 4-0 run with back-to-back blocks to take a commanding 9-4 lead. Peterson rattled off two straight kills to extend the lead to 13-6. Belmont went on to win a hard-fought set five and match 15-9. 
 
Up Next
 
No. 8 Belmont will take on no. 5 Valparaiso on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT in Springfield, Mo. for the opening round of the MVC tournament. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats can be found on belmontbruins.com.
 
Follow Belmont volleyball on social media - @BelmontVB  on Twitter, @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.