LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Three nights after ending a seven-match losing streak, the Lady Miners were unable to halt their skid in Great Lakes Valley Conference play as they dropped a 3-0 decision at Bellarmine.
The Knights took a 30-26 decision in the first game, then extended the margin in each of the last two games with wins of 30-20 and 30-14.
The first game was tight for much of the way, but the Lady Miners were playing catchup nearly the entire time. Bellarmine built a 10-4 lead, only to see UMR knock the advantage down. The Lady Miners eventually caught up and got a lead of 26-24. However, a kill by Bellarmine's Kelli Krucki started a 6-0 run that gave the Knights the first game.
Game two saw the Knights lead virtually from start to finish. After the teams split the first two points, Bellarmine scored the next three to take the lead for good. UMR got a kill from Maddie Owak and a service ace from Bridget Williams to close to within one at 4-3, but that was as close as it would get in the middle game.
A 9-2 BU run gave it a 19-9 lead and it was able to keep the Lady Miners at bay from there.
The final game saw the Lady Miners lead in the early stages, but the Knights were able to put together another big run -- this one of 9-1 -- to grasp control of the game and the match.
Leandra Pelae led the Lady Miners with 12 kills while Owak finished with six, but the Lady Miners were only able to post a hitting percentage of .096 for the night compared to Bellarmine's .352.
Ashlyn Balensiefer had 28 assists and Williams recorded 17 digs for the Lady Miners (2-17, 1-6 GLVC), who will play at Kentucky Wesleyan Saturday afternoon.
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