Belmont women’s volleyball lost its first two matches of Missouri Valley Conference play over the weekend.
On Friday, the Bruins traveled to Bradley University to face the Braves.
The Bruins didn’t start off hot as Bradley earned the first point of the night as the ball sailed out of bounds.
But Belmont then scored five consecutive points, capitalizing off three Bradley service errors, becoming a later detriment to their success.
The Bruins extended the lead to 12-9 in the first as Bradley was unable to return spikes or locate the ball in the first set as Belmont won the first set 25-19.
The second set started as a neck-and-neck battle with Belmont leading 5-4.
Bradley returned and swung the momentum, quickly coming back and tying the set 14-14.
The Bruins battled back 25-24 in a win-by-two situation.
Despite a hard battle fought by the Bruins, Bradley took the second set 29-27.
Bradley quickly took the lead in set three by emphasizing Belmont’s mistakes.
But Belmont intensified their lead with explosive hits Bradley couldn't fight back against.
Graduate student Kamryn Olson suffered an injury in the third set, resulting in the Bruins falling back on their lead.
The third set became tied 26-26, but the Braves won the next two points to take the third set.
The Bruins continued downwards, but their defense and impressive blocks helped them climb back in points.
Belmont came back and took the lead 15-11 in the fourth set.
Despite the Bruins being up 22-21, they started to lose momentum with small errors and miscommunication on the court.
But they kept their heads in the game, forcing an important fifth set.
The Braves continued to command the court, winning the match 15-10.
On Saturday, the Bruins took on Illinois State in another back-and-forth match.
In the first set, neither team could gain momentum.
But the Bruins began pulling away to take 25-19 first-set win.
The Bruins seemed to carry over that success into the second set, taking the 19-15 lead.
The Braves capitalized on mistakes by the Bruins, winning 10 of the next 14 points to capture the second set.
The Braves then fought off a Bruins comeback in the third set to take the 2-1 lead.
For Belmont, the fourth set was do-or-die.
With the match tied at 19, the Bruins went on a crucial 4-0 run to take the 23-19 lead.
Following a Braves error, Belmont forced a fifth set.
But the Braves controlled the tempo of the set, winning the match 15-8.
The Bruins look to snap their losing streak with a weekend homestand against Evansville and Indiana State on Oct. 4 and 5.
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This article was written by Emily Garver with contributory reporting from Ty Wellemeyer
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