WILMORE, Ky. - The Spalding University women's volleyball team delivered a commanding performance on Saturday, September 26, 2026, sweeping Belhaven University in straight sets (25-13, 25-20, 25-22) at the Luce Center in Wilmore, Kentucky. The Golden Eagles dominated across the board, leading the Blazers in total kills (39–30), hitting percentage (.157 to .110), service aces (7–3), and digs (74–58) to claim a decisive victory.
Spalding set the tone early in the opening set, jumping out to a 5-0 run and never trailing. Back-to-back-to-back service aces extended the margin to 16-7 before the Golden Eagles comfortably took the frame, 25-13. The offense hit its stride in the second set, recording 16 kills and hitting a match-high .262 as Spalding maintained control to secure a 25-20 set win and a 2-0 match lead.
The third set proved to be a tighter battle featuring 10 ties and six lead changes. After Belhaven erased an early 8-3 Spalding lead and edged ahead 20-19, the Golden Eagles answered with four consecutive points to regain control at 23-20. The Blazers trimmed the deficit to 24-22, but outside hitter
Kylie Minnis shut the door, sealing the match victory with her game-high 16th kill.
Minnis anchored the Golden Eagles' attack with 16 kills and eight digs, while
Paloma Martinez chipped in seven kills. Setter
Taimane Alo orchestrated the offense seamlessly, dishing out a match-high 33 assists along with eight digs. Defensively,
Jobi Smith led all players with 22 digs while adding two service aces, supported by double-digit dig efforts from
Jaylen Wheatley (12 digs, 3 aces) and
Tia Terpening (11 digs).
