SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Belmont University Volleyball Program (4-5) opened the Terrier Invite against Saint Francis (Pa.) (5-3). In their second meeting of the season, the Bruins fell to the Red Flash in four sets (11-25, 20-25, 25-22, 22-25). Following their match versus SFU, Belmont faced Presbyterian College (0-8). Presbyterian was looking for their first win of the season, but Belmont came out strong for a four set win (25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21).
Belmont vs SFU
Belmont met familiar competition to start the day. The Bruins faced the Red Flash for the second time this season where they fell in four sets. Belmont got off to a slow start in set one and quickly found themselves down 4-15. Aubrey Deptula had the hot hand with four kills in the Red Flash's early run.
Ally Peterson added three kills in the first for Belmont, but the team was unable to overcome the deficit and dropped set one 11-25.
The Bruins made some adjustments in set two with appearances from right side
Brenna Kauffeld and middle
Alex Williams. Belmont was able to put together an early 4-0 run behind two kills from Peterson and an ace by
Elizabeth Godfrey. The Bruins led the Red Flash 16-14 midway through the second before SFU took back over and finished the set 20-25.
Belmont came out strong in set three. The Bruins jumped to an early 11-8 lead, and Belmont's front court continued to apply pressure on the SFU defense the rest of the way. Brooke Gilliland contributed four kills while Kauffeld added five. Belmont took set three 25-22 to stay alive in the match.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle. SFU raced to a 5-2 lead before Belmont regained the momentum and went up 13-11 off a kill by
Brooke Gilleland. After the Bruins' run, the Red Flash regained control to become the first team to 20.
Kristen Clemons added a pair of late kills to bring Belmont back within two, but SFU eventually took the set and match 22-25.
Belmont vs Presbyterian
Belmont got off to another slow start in set one until
Ally Peterson and
Kristen Clemons combined for a pair of kills to get things going for the Bruins.
Lilly Lutz added an ace and tied it up for the Bruins at 7-7. Both teams continued to trade the lead until the very end when Belmont went on a 3-0 run to take the set 25-23.
Set two was a game of runs. Presbyterian went on an early 4-0 run before Belmont's Clemons entered the front court. Clemons fired off a kill and back-to-back blocks to spark a Bruins 4-0 run of their own. Belmont later found themselves up 19-17 before Presbyterian went on another run to take the lead at 20-19. The Bruins went back and forth with the Blue Hose in a race to 25 but finished on top after an ace by
Anna Supe.
Presbyterian came out hot in the third and continued to control the tempo throughout the set. Belmont was down 9-17 before going on a 6-0 run to fight their way back in the set. The run was started off by another kill from Clemons and an ace from Supe. Despite the late comeback, the Blue Hose would maintain the lead during the entire set and finish on top 23-25.
The last set was another back-and-forth battle for the Bruins. Kauffeld came up big for Belmont and tallied five kills while Peterson added three. The two hitters would later provide a pair of kills to give the Bruins a 22-18 lead. It was all Belmont the rest of the way, and the Bruins finished the set and match on top 25-21.
Up Next
Belmont will conclude the tournament on Saturday against host Wofford (6-2) at 12 p.m. CT.
Both single match and season tickets are on sale. Season tickets are $50 per seat and include all volleyball home games.
Click here to purchase your single match or season tickets.
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.
#ItsBruinTime
