NASHVILLE, TENN. — The Bulldogs were swept by Belmont (25-19, 25-21, 27-25) in the second match at the Lipscomb Invitational. For the second straight match,
Abby Maesch led the team in kills collecting 10 on Saturday.
Belmont 25-19
The Bulldogs fell behind early in the first set 4-7. Belmont then continued putting on the pressure extending their lead to 18-9. Kills from Jaeda Lockhart and Elise Ward helped lead consecutive 3-0 runs to cut the lead 19-15. The Bruins then woke up extending their lead back to 23-17 and eventually closing out the set 25-19.
Belmont 25-21
Butler was chasing the Bruins once again in Set 2 after Belmont jumped out to a 6-0 lead. The score grew to 11-4 before a 5-1 run brought the score back to within three at 12-9 using kills by Abby Maesch. Belmont soon regained the momentum 19-12. THe Bulldogs then went on a block brigade with four blocks including three by Lockhart to bring the score back to 23-20. However, the Bruins would survive the late rally securing the set 25-21.
Belmont 27-25
The third set was a different story after the Bulldogs took an early 6-5 lead by kills from Destiny Cherry. Mistakes by Belmont helped Butler extend their lead to 11-9. The Bulldog lead reached 17-13 before a 5-0 spurt helped the Bruins flip the score to take a 20-18 lead. Kills from Maesch and Sawyer Jones gave the Bulldogs a 22-21 lead and would hold on until the Bruins made the score 24-24. The two teams would remain deadlocked until the Bruins pulled away late to take the match.
Stat of the Match: Despite the loss, the young Bulldogs outplayed Belmont on defense with the Bulldogs collecting 48 digs and 9 blocks to the Bruins 46 digs and 7 blocks. First-year
Lauren Evans led the match with 14 digs while sophomore
Jaeda Lockhart tallied a match-high five blocks.
Inside the Box Score
- Cora Taylor amassed 23 assists, eight digs and a pair of blocks
- Evans earned 14 digs and two serving aces
- Maesch led the team with 10 kills along with six digs and two blocks
- Lockhart collected five kills and five blocks
Up Next
The Bulldogs will play the final match of the Lipscomb Invitational against the host Bisons tomorrow at 4 pm ET.
