Beginning this week, the sports team at the Belmont Vision is launching Bruin Blitz– a recap of the “week that was” in Belmont athletic events. You’ll find game summary, key stats and be notified of any player or coaching achievements in a concise sport-by-sport format.
Volleyball:
9/27 v. Morehead State:
In a tense Ohio Valley Conference home opener, volleyball team fell to last year’s regular season champ Morehead State in straight sets Friday night, 25-18, 25-21 and 27-25.
After falling behind ten points in the first set, the Bruins battled the Eagles for the second and third sets.
“It was certainly good volleyball on both sides, but when it came down to the moments where we needed to run our middles, we weren’t consistent enough and that’s something we’ll need to address,” coach Deane Webb said.
Scarlet Gable (OH/DS) finished the evening leading the Bruins with 31 attack attempts and 11 digs.
9/28 v. Eastern Kentucky
Belmont picked up their first conference win of the season Saturday against Eastern Kentucky in straight sets.
The Bruins won the sets 25-22, 25-15 and 25-18.
“Defense was our big goal today,” said coach Deane Webb. “Last night we got outworked and we wanted to come in today and correct that. We really made sure that EKU had to take one more swing than they wanted every rally.”
Scarlet Gable and Allison McCoy had 10 kills each to lead the Bruins. Senior Hannah Miranda contributed a game-high 24 assists and 14 digs.
With the win, the Bruins are now 8-10 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.
The team will begin a four-game road trip this Tuesday at Tennessee State.
-Sam Cowan
Men’s Soccer:
9/25 @ UAB
Despite a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks over the Blazers and match-best five saves by goalkeeper Grayson Rector, the Bruins lost to #14 UAB in Birmingham, Ala. 2-0.
Blazer forward Freddy Ruiz hit his fifth goal of the season in the 17th minute of the first half.
Midfielder Alex Clay shot his first goal of the season to extend UAB’s lead to 2-0 in the 70th minute of the second half.
With the loss, Belmont’s record landed at 3-3-1.
9/28 @ Jacksonville
Belmont reached the halfway point of a six-game road stint and their first road victory with a 1-0 shutout of Jacksonville.
Bruin midfielder/forward Raphael Colmanette scored within the first five minutes of the match, giving Belmont the only goal they needed to notch the victory and improve to 4-3-1 on the season.
Goalkeeper Grayson Rector notched four saves and his third shutout for the year while the Bruins outshot the Dolphins 17-11.
Belmont heads back on the road on Wednesday to Longwood for a 6 p.m. CT match.
Women’s soccer:
9/27 v. Eastern Illinois
After a scoreless regulation match, the Bruins lost their OVC home opener against the Eastern Illinois Panthers 1-0.
EIU wasted no time in overtime, earning a corner kick within the first minute and a half to gain a promising location in the box to set up the winning goal for the Panthers.
Despite the loss, Belmont outshot EIU 24-7 and goalkeeper Nicole Berner earned three saves.
9/29 @ SIU Edwardsville
After a scoreless first half, Belmont (2-5-2) was the first team to score in a 1-1 draw at SIUE thanks to an Amy Jo Anderson goal assisted by Katie Proud in the 58th minute of the second half.
Ten minutes later, SIUE earned a corner kick, setting up a Cougar goal and ultimately the match into overtime.
SIUE freshman forward Kayla Delgado ended the match less than a minute into overtime, sending a shot to the upper left of the goal only to be deflected.
Belmont goalkeeper Nicole Berner earned eight saves in the match.
The Bruins will return to play this Friday against Murray State at 5:00 p.m. at Rose Park.