LONGVIEW, Texas - The Belhaven University volleyball team fell in four sets on Friday evening against Concordia University Texas in their first match at the American Southwest Conference Crossover Challenge at LeTourneau University. 

The Tornadoes won the opening set 25-20, but Belhaven responded with a 25-17 second set victory. After a tight third set, Concordia came out on top 26-24, and then closed out the match with a 25-15 fourth set win.

The Blazers slip to 6-6 (2-2 ASC) overall on the season with the loss.

Belhaven fell behind early on in the first set 10-2. The Blazers made a late push to try and close the gap but were unsuccessful.

In the second set, the Green and Gold dominated in the beginning stages. After losing the first pointed, Belhaven won the next 10 consecutive points to build a comfortable lead. The Tornadoes rallied  to even the match at 12-12, but the Blazers re-gained their momentum and re-took the lead at 20-15. Ryan Hardin posted the set winning kill to even the match.

However, Belhaven would falter in a third set battle. The Blazers found themselves down 23-16, but would rip off the next seven straight points to even the set at 23 apiece. A kill from Hope Tourney would re-tie the set at 24, but Concordia would rally to win the final two points of the set.

With Belhaven down two sets to one, Concordia carried over their momentum and energy into the final set. The Blazers got off to a slow start and played catch up the entire set and ultimately were never able to threaten Concordia.

As a team, Belhaven recorded seven service aces and 46 kills.

Several Blazers put together quality performances despite the defeat on Friday. Junior Ryan Hardin registered a season-high 13 kills and four total blocks, with two solo and two assisted blocks on the evening.

Hope Tourney and Lauren Whiting collected 11 and 10 kills respectively. Whiting also added nine digs throughout the contest.

Senior Kelly Aholt posted 37 assists, seven digs, and two service aces. Sydney McEachern finished with a team-high 21 digs, while Allie Perkins also tabbed eight digs.

The Blazers will continue their stay in Longview with a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m. against Sul Ross State. Belhaven will conclude the weekend with a 3:00 p.m. match against McMurry University.

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