NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Day two of the Belmont Invitational presented by Hyatt Place Green Hills saw the Belmont University volleyball team battle Samford in a lengthy, five-set match Saturday evening inside the Curb Event Center. Despite a two sets to one lead, the Bruins (1-4) were defeated 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 21-25, 35-33, 15-10) after the visiting Bulldogs (1-3) saved nine match points in the pivotal fourth set.
 
After dropping the opening set, Belmont held a double match point at 24-22 in the fourth following strong second and third sets.
 
Both senior outside hitter Connie Kofoed (16) and sophomore middle blocker Erin McMullen (16) recorded career highs in kills, while sophomore libero Mya Bolton came up with a career-best 30 digs. For her second consecutive match, Kofoed notched a double-double with a career-high 19 digs. She also made a career-best four total blocks.
 
Senior outside hitter Emily Warmenhoven also registered double-digit kills with 15 as junior setter Alivia Keegan provided a team-high 37 assists.
 
Junior middle blocker Alexia Smollen tallied eight kills and had four blocks and sophomore setter Jordan Czajkowski assisted on 19 kills and earned nine digs.
 
Across the five sets, Samford hit .237 and compiled 72 kills. The Bruins hit .199 on 191 total attacks.
 
Set 1
Getting off to a slow start, Belmont trailed 11-4 and 13-6 early before climbing within two at 18-16 and 19-17. Three-straight Bulldog points put the visitors up 22-17 and Samford shut the door on a Brianna Hamilton kill.
 
Set 2
Going on a 4-0 run, the Bruins took a 16-12 lead. Moments later, a service ace from junior Lauren Evans put Belmont up 19-15. The Bruins won three of the last four points of the set after the score was knotted at 22. Kills by senior right-side hitter Brenna Kauffeld and Warmenhoven evened the match.
 
Set 3
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-1 lead, however, Belmont put together a 9-3 run to take a 14-11 advantage. A kill from McMullen made it 18-13 and the Bruins finished things off with kills from Warmenhoven and McMullen after Samford got within reach at 23-21.
 
Belmont hit .295 in the set and laid down 16 kills.
 
Set 4
A block by Kofoed gave the Bruins an 11-10 lead and Belmont was in front 15-14 at the media timeout. After the Bulldogs won three consecutive points to retake the lead at 20-19, the Bruins rattled off three points in a row to go up 22-20.
 
Warmenhoven gave Belmont a pair of match points at 24-22, but Samford got back-to-back kills from Ally Cordes to tie things up.
 
Three Bulldog serving errors and two kills by Kofoed gave the Bruins five more match points, before Samford had its first set point at 30-29. Yet another Bulldog error on the serve and a forceful kill by Kauffeld gave Belmont its eighth match point. At 31-30, the Bruins came up with tremendous digs on Samford's attack but eventually the Bulldogs' Cordes prevailed.
 
A McMullen kill gave Belmont its ninth and final match point at 32-31.
 
Following a Bruin service error and a Samford ace, McMullen saved a set point with a kill to make it 33-all. On the Bulldogs' third set point after a Cordes kill, Samford got a finishing swing from Maggie Kalisz.
 
The Bulldogs hit .278 and totaled 22 kills in the stanza.
 
Set 5
After the teams split the first two points, Belmont trailed the rest of the way. Samford built a 5-2 lead before the Bruins got within a point four times, including the last at 10-9.
 
The Bulldogs won five of the final six points of the match, closing on a Cordes kill.
 
Samford hit a match-best .346 in the deciding set with 10 kills and only one attack error.
 
Cordes led the Bulldogs with a match-high 31 kills and team-best 22 digs. Samford got five aces from Alison Ohlinger, who assisted on 66 kills, six blocks from Hazel Slusher, and five blocks from Janie Stinchcomb.
 
Up Next
Belmont wraps up the Belmont Invitational presented by Hyatt Place Green Hills Sunday afternoon with Middle Tennessee. First serve from the Curb is scheduled for 2 p.m. The match is dedicated to the late Will Lansdown, the brother of junior Madison Lansdown, a Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native. In support of Will's legacy and the fight against Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC) disease, $5 from every ticket sold will be donated to the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Fund, which supports research dedicated to finding a treatment and, ultimately, a cure for NPC disease. Sunday afternoon is the second annual Will's Match.
 
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