HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Belhaven University volleyball team's five match winning streak came to a close on Tuesday evening after a four set loss at William Carey in non-conference play.

The Blazers fell by a score of 27-25, 26-24, 21-25, and 25-22. Belhaven now falls to 11-7 on the season overall. 

All four sets of the match were highly contested as the Blazers had opportunities to win every single set on Tuesday.

Belhaven trailed 20-11 in the opening set before making an impressive rally. Down 24-18, the Green and Gold staved off six consecutive set points as they evened up the set at 24-24. However, BU was unable to take the lead and dropped a tight first set 27-25.

The Blazers led for a majority of the second set , but could not hold off a late charge from the Crusaders, who rallied from an 18-15 deficit to win the set.

With Belhaven down two sets, the Blazers had to respond in the third to avoid being swept. The Blazers built another lead early on in the set, but WCU came back to reclaim the lead. This time though, Belhaven rallied from a 19-16 deficit, as Ryan Hardin finished off the set with a kill.

The fourth set was another battle between both squads. The set was tied at 7-7 in the opening stages, but the Crusaders would build a four-point cushion to hold on to moments later. Belhaven would make multiple late comeback attempts and successfully closed the gap down to 24-22, but dropped the next point to end the match.

The Green and Gold produced 46 kills and 10 service aces as a team.

Lauren Whiting tacked on a team-high 14 kills. The Junior also finished with 11 digs and one solo and assisted block.

Hope Tourney posted eight kills in the loss. Additionally, Tourney collected three solo blocks and three assisted blocks up at the net.

Ryan Hardin added six kills with Blaykleigh Smythe and Bekah Williams totaling five kills apiece.

Kelly Aholt led the Blazers with 35 assists while also notching 11 digs. Aholt, who was named C Spire Athlete of the Week, also registered five kills and two service aces.

Sydney McEachern and Allie Perkins recorded 31 and 14 digs respectively, while Jackie Fredericks tallied eight digs.

The Blazers will next travel to Tyler, Texas for a showdown against UT Tyler on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m.

Belhaven defeated the Patriots in five sets at Rugg Arena earlier in the season in their first matchup.