Volleyball Falls Short in Season Opener at Vanderbilt

Photo taken by Alex Zock.

Belmont's volleyball team was unable to play spoiler in Vanderbilt University's first home volleyball game in 45 years, losing three sets to one.

The game, played outside on Vanderbilt's Wyatt Lawn, was also Belmont's first game of the season, and head coach Fritz Rosenberg's first game at Belmont.

"This is what you dream about playing in front of every match," he said. "I thought it was a great event for Nashville as a city to bring big volleyball and big crowds to volleyball in Nashville."

The game drew a large crowd including Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell, who was gifted a commemorative volleyball before the game.

The fanfare and buildup paid off into four highly competitive sets. Vanderbilt won each of the first two sets, going on extended scoring runs in each. Belmont was able to slow their momentum however, winning the third set 25-18 and carrying a late lead in the fourth.

"They played really good volleyball, but I was really proud of how we responded in set three," said Rosenberg. "In the fourth set we were really tough with them, they made a few big plays and we made a few plays, and they edged us out in the end. That's big-time volleyball."

Belmont appeared to have stolen the momentum in the third set, however one last late Vanderbilt run in the fourth solidified the Commodores' win.

Senior Brooke Gilleland led the Bruins in kills with 15, and fellow senior Lilly Lutz led the team with 13 digs.

Belmont will return to the Curb Event Center for the first time this season when they face Seton Hall Saturday night.

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This article was written by Nick Rampe