Belmont volleyball played their own Bruiser Showcase this weekend and finished with a record of 0-3 in the tournament.
Though the lady Bruins struggled to put up wins, the team still played hard and was competitive in every game, making for some thrilling finishes that the scoreboard didn’t reflect.
The first game on Friday was a four set thriller against University of North Alabama. The Bruins struggled out of the gate but would go on to win the second set and played a close game against UNA through the following two sets.
During the final set the Bruins put together a rally led by standout junior Halee Van Poppel and sophomore Mary Catherine Ball, who both had kills to bring Belmont within one point. Yet, it wasn’t enough as UNA would close the door on any comeback attempt and take the set 26-24, resulting in a 3-1 match loss.
The second game Friday evening was against University of Wisconsin-Milkwaukee. The student section was filled to the brim with students from Pembroke Hall. They flooded the arena with chants and rally songs, but it wasn’t enough to get the lady Bruins the win.
The Bruins struggled against Milwaukee’s tall front line. The usual Belmont standouts Van Poppel, Carly Mason and Taylor Floyd struggled to find openings to attack. The result was a set that Milwaukee never lost control of.
The rest of the game was more of the same for the Bruins, as they would drop both the second and third frame of the contest, resulting in a hard fought 3-0 match sweep for Milwaukee.
Saturday’s afternoon matchup was a chance for redemption for the Bruins. Though Van Poppel was the highest point scorer in the first set, with five total kills, it wasn’t enough as Belmont would go on to drop the frame 25-19 to Arkansas State University.
The second set was Belmont’s to win as halfway through they held a 15-9 lead. Arkansas State would put together an 11-4 run and eventually tie the game at 19 all. From that point on they never looked back and took the set 25-22.
With the second set dropped, the Bruins struggled to find a rhythm for the remainder of the game and would go on to drop the third frame 25-17. The end result was another hard fought 3-0 match sweep for Arkansas State.
Though the Bruins didn’t win a game in the Bruiser Showcase, they still have plenty of time to right the ship.
The next Belmont volleyball game is set for Tuesday, Sept. 3 against Alabama A&M University.
This article written by Ian Kayanja.
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