LOUISVILLE, Ky.- Eighth-ranked Drury stumbled to a 3-1 loss at Bellarmine (27-25, 24-26, 25-18, 25-19) in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday as the Panthers suffered just their second conference defeat of the season.
 
Drury fell to 20-4 and 10-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference while Bellarmine improved to 16-8 and 7-6 in the league.
 
The night turned sour for the Panthers in the opening set after they built a 20-16 lead but saw the Knights reel off five straight points and go on to a 27-25 win. Drury battled for a 26-24 win in the second set but could not climb out of an eight-point hole in the third and Bellarmine closed out the match with a 25-19 win in the fourth.
 
Emmalee Chrest led Drury with 17 kills while Kendra Sater had 36 assists and Bree Schmidt added 22 digs.
 
The Knights had four players in double-figures in kills and were led by Jacquie Hornung and Bailey Roszman who both had 13. Bellarmine served 10 aces with five coming from Kristen O'Toole.
 
The loss drops Drury a half-game behind Illinois Springfield for first place in the GLVC standings. The Prairie Stars beat William Jewell 3-1 on Friday. The Panthers are tied for second in the league as 14th ranked Rockhurst lost at Indianapolis 3-2 on Friday.
 
The Panthers continue their road trip on Saturday as they travel to Southern Indiana for a 3 p.m. game in Evansville.
 
 
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