Shoopman finishes with eighth double-double in 3-1 defeat in Carbondale
Despite a double-double from Laura Shoopman, the Belmont University volleyball team fell on the road at Southern Illinois on Friday night, dropping a tight match in four sets to the Salukis in Carbondale, Illinois.
Belmont (7-14, 3-5 MVC) was defeated 21-25, 33-31, 20-25, 21-25 by Southern Illinois as they tried to avenge a five-set loss to the Salukis from earlier this season at the Curb Event Center.
Shoopman tallied 15 kills on 41 swings, adding 12 digs for her eighth double-double of the season.
Kristen Clemons added 11 kills with four block assists, and Ally Peterson chipped in eight kills.
Rachel McBride finished with 18 digs on the night to go along with five assists.
Sydney Willis tied her career-high with eight block assists, helping Belmont finish with 11 total blocks.
Peyton O'Brien dished out 39 assists to facilitate the offense, and Lilly Lutz collected two of the four Bruin aces.
After dropping the first set, Belmont had their backs against the wall in the second frame, down 24-21 with the Salukis at set point and threatening to go up 2-0.
However, an inspired push powered by big kills from Peterson, Shoopman, and Clemons willed Belmont back into it with a 3-0 run to tie things at 24-24 and go punch-for-punch with Southern Illinois (12-7, 5-2 MVC) all the way up into the 30's, before an O'Brien ace sent Belmont over the edge with a huge 33-31 victory that tied the match up at one set apiece.
Belmont hit .257 in the second set, their best in any frame on the night.
For the match, both Belmont and Southern Illinois hit .194, with the Salukis committing nine more attack errors but making up for it with nine service aces and twelve more kills than the Bruins.
In the third set, neither squad was able to gain much separation, as things were tied 12-12, 17-17, and 23-23 before the Salukis took the final two points to take a crucial 2-1 lead in sets.
In the fourth and final frame, Southern Illinois put together a 5-0 run to go up 18-11 and didn't look back, holding off Belmont for the match-securing 25-20 win.
Last Word
"I thought Lauren [Walsh] played well and Brooke [Gilleland] did a nice job coming off the bench," head coach Katelyn Harrison said. "I really liked the fight in game 2, coming back and battling to win, 33-31."
Up Next
Belmont will travel to Springfield, Missouri, tomorrow to take on Missouri State at Hammons Student Center. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Original source can be found here.
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