Belmont’s volleyball team went 0-3 in Friday and Saturday’s Bruiser Showcase, losing its three matches against University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of Tulsa amd East Tennessee State University.
The Bruins’ first match on Friday morning against UMBC was a back-and-forth, point-for-point battle from start to finish.
After four very close sets, Belmont went into the fifth set looking for a win, but ultimately fell short, losing the game to UMBC 10-15.
The Bruins entered the first set of the day’s second match against Tulsa with a vengeance, gaining an early lead thanks to block from sophomore Halee Van Poppel and a kill from senior Maggie Mullins.
The team kept a small lead for most of the set, but a series of errors by Belmont allowed the Golden Hurricane to pull ahead and win 25-20.
Tulsa came ready to win with four kills at the beginning of the second set. Though the Bruins tried to fight back, the Golden Hurricane’s lack of costly mistakes made them an unstoppable force, taking the set 25-14.
Belmont fought hard to put pressure on Tulsa in the third set with kills from senior Tori Simmons and sophomore Mary Catherine Ball, but the Golden Hurricane picked up an early lead and didn’t slow down, winning the set 25-17.
In their third and final match, the Bruins had a fierce start with early kills by freshman Taylor Floyd, sophomore Mackenzie Lepage and senior Tori Simmons. They managed to keep up with their opponent thanks to a service ace by Mullins and a couple of attacking errors from the Buccaneers,
Most of the opening set was point-for-point until errors in serving, attacking and net violations by the Bruins allowed ETSU to pull ahead.
Belmont eventually tied it up 24-24 thanks to a handful of kills by Floyd and Mullins as well as errors from the other side of the net. However, an error on the Bruins’ side and a kill by ETSU junior Leah Clayton allowed the Bucs to take the first set 26-24.
Though Belmont scored some points after a few long rallies in the second set, it didn’t do much to help them catch up after ETSU capitalized on their many mistakes with many devastating kills, again winning set two 25-11.
The Bucs remained dominant in the third set, aggressively scoring point after point, while the Bruins, despite getting a few nice kills and a block, struggled at the start.
Though the Bruins began to make a comeback, it was too late, as ETSU quickly won the final set 25-17.
Belmont played hard in all three matches but fell short of an outcome the team hoped for.
The Bruins’ next match will take place on Sept. 11 as they head down Belmont Boulevard to face off against the Lipscomb Bisons at 6:30 p.m.
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This article written by Drew Pearce