Volleyball Wins Halloween Thriller Against UIC in Five Sets
The Belmont volleyball team put out the University of Illinois Chicago Flames 3-2 Saturday afternoon in a Halloween thriller.
While the Bruins played six five-set matches early in the season, Saturday was the first time the Bruins played all five sets in conference play.
“You just have to keep battling, keep trusting yourself,” Rosenberg said. “And I thought that was a great test for us.”
With their sixth consecutive win, the Bruins improve to 11-1 in conference play and 14-9 overall.
The first set was a close, back-and-forth battle, with neither team leading by more than four throughout. Ultimately, the Bruins stopped the Flames, capturing the set 25-23.
Set two started slowly for Belmont, with UIC going on a 4-0 run.
The Bruins tried to claw their way back, tying and swapping leads with the Flames 11 times. However, the Flames came out on top, taking the set 25-19.
Set three proved to be Belmont’s strongest start to a set, with the Bruins going on a 12-6 run before the first UIC timeout.
“I think coming into those sets, we were really fired up,” said junior Lucy Kay. “We kind of wanted to make a point and show who we are.”
The Bruins stayed on top throughout the rest of the set, winning 25-14.
“We trusted our game, and it paid off,” Kay said.
Set four did not prove to be as successful for the Bruins as the previous set, with the Flames coming out swinging after tying Belmont 3-3 early on. UIC would eventually take the set 25-17.
Set five was an overall close battle, with neither team leading by more than three at any point.
“Going into that fifth set, we were all like, ‘no doubt, no doubt this set is ours,’” Kay said.
While the Bruins had no doubts, the results looked all but certain at the start of set five.
An unsuccessful coach’s challenge from Rosenberg gave UIC the 4-3 lead and credited the Flames’ Martina Cerrato with the kill.
However, after more back-and-forth, the Bruins eventually claimed the final set when a post-timeout kill from Kay gave Belmont the match point at 15-13.
The Bruins will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa on Friday to take on the Northern Iowa Panthers.
This article was written by Rachel Suggs
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