LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Truman State University volleyball team did not come out strong in the first set at Bellarmine on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs were beaten 25-15 and out-hit by the Knights, .414 to .065, in the process. However, the Purple and White regrouped and picked up their first win of the year in which the first set didn't go their way. Truman defeated Bellarmine with set scores of 15-25, 25-18, 31-29, and 25-22.

Truman (11-3, 4-2 GLVC) ran its winning streak to four while Bellarmine (8-7, 2-5 GLVC) has dropped four of its last five matches. In the two teams' seventh all-time meeting (Bulldogs lead 5-2), a trio of Purple and White hitters had big days including Ellie Kaat (16 kills and .265 hitting percentage), Sam Yancy (14 kills) and Holly Hildebrand (12 kills and .391 hitting percentage). Kaat finished a monster week in which she recorded 29 kills to just 11 errors on 65 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .277.

The offense's engine, Savvy Hughes (48 assists), surpassed 40 assists in a match for the sixth time this season, all of which have come away from Pershing Arena. Also on offense, Meghan Gasper and Claire Wandrey each had two of the team's four service aces. Defensively, Hildebrand stuffed six attempts including two solo blocks and Lauren Wacker dug out 20 balls.

The home team scored 17 of the first 24 points to open the match and that hot play included separate runs of 6-1 and 9-1. Once it was 17-7 in favor of Bellarmine, Truman was never able to pull closer than eight points including 17-9, 18-10, 22-14, and 23-15. With that being said, it was by no means a sign of things to come for the visitors.

In the second set, despite the Knights striking first, the Bulldogs rattled off six of the next seven points to go up by four, 6-2. Bellarmine then answered with an 8-3 run of its own and had a one-point advantage, 10-9. Following two more ties at 10-10 and 12-12, Truman sealed the set with 13 of a possible 19 points and the match was deadlocked at 1-1.

The third set was an absolute barn burner that boasted 16 of the match's 31 ties and six of its 16 lead changes. The biggest lead that either team enjoyed was four as Truman was up 5-1 and Bellarmine's came at 20-16. The Bulldogs responded to that four-point deficit with a 7-1 run and once the final tie came at 29-29, scored the final two points to win the set and go up 2-1.

In the fourth set, after five ties in the first 14 total points, Bellarmine was on a 7-1 run that gave it an 11-7 lead. Truman battled back, though, and at one point scored seven-straight points to maintain a two-point advantage, 18-16. The Knights scored three in a row to take their final lead, 19-18, before the Bulldogs ended it with seven of the final 10 points.

Next up, Truman will host Missouri Western on Tuesday in Pershing Arena with first serve set for 7 p.m.

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