Belmont volleyball achieved their first win of the season against Alabama A&M Tuesday evening in a match they completely controlled, winning in a sweep 3-0.
Early in the first set, it already looked as though the Bruins would be locked into another nail biter. Half way through the preliminary set, the score was 12-10 in Alabama’s favor. It would be sophomore Carly Mason’s ace that would that would ignite the lady Bruins and lead to an eventual tie game at 19-a-piece.
From this point forward the Bruins did not look back as they would close the frame out on a 5-0 scoring run leading to a 25-20 final.
Alabama A&M looked for some retribution in the second set, and rallied from an early deficit to tie the set at 11. However, a 3-0 run by Belmont would force Alabama A&M to call a timeout. Junior Halee Van Poppel extended the lead 16-12 and the Bruins took the set frame 25-17.
The third set was controlled by Belmont from start to finish. The team effort in this frame led to an 18-9 lead for the lady Bruins. Alabama A&M would make an effort to climb back into it, bringing the lead as close as just four, but two service aces by Peyton Kelley would right the ship for Belmont. A kill by Lauren Walsh would end the game as Belmont took the last set 25-17.
The standout Bruins were Halee Van Poppel with 16 kills and Taylor Floyd with 11. Faith Cobaugh also led with 16 digs. Kelley led the way in service aces with 2.
The next game for Belmont volleyball is set for Friday at 12:30 p.m. against Bradley University in the Bradley Tournament, where, hopefully, the Bruins will continue their winning ways.
This article written by Ian Kayanja. Photos by Joe Bendekovic.