NASHVILLE — A raucous crowd at Kean Hall witnessed an instant classic in the five-set match between the home standing Tennessee State University Tigers (9-8, 1-7 OVC) and their crosstown rivals the Belmont Bruins (6-12, 4-4 OVC). The Tigers got 13 points apiece from senior Aniya Williams and junior Aleksandra Rojecka, but it was not enough as Belmont took the victory 25-19, 26-28, 28-26, 17-25 and 15-7.

"Realistically I know it looks like that we should be winning more but we are a young team," said TSU head coach Donika Sutton. "We have seven newcomers on this team, and they play. I liked how Ola (Rojecka) played tonight. Because of injuries to her teammates, she has played out of position all year. We are trying to build chemistry. I can see it. We have 13 more games left and I am confident that it is about to click again. Stay tuned."

Set 1: Belmont 25-19

The Tigers started the set with the first point, then stretched the lead to 5-2. 6-2, Belmont then scored the next seven points to make the score 9-6. Rachel McBride had two service aces during the run. Belmont kept the pressure going and took a 15-10 lead at the media break on a service ace by Mary Catherine Ball.

After the break, the Tigers scored the next three points to cut the lead to 15-13. Belmont then went on a run stretching the lead to 20-13 forcing TSU to call a timeout. Belmont stretched the lead to 23-15. An attack error by TSU freshman Ta'Roni Holland made it set point. The Bruins finished the set off on a kill by Taylor Floyd.

Set 2: Tigers 28-26

The second set was highly contested with 13 ties and six lead changes. Just like the first set, TSU started out scoring the first point. Both teams then traded points until Belmont went on a 3-0 run that was halted with a kill by senior Williams to make the score 5-3. The Tigers tied the score at five on a kill by Mion Weldon. Neither team could take an advantage in the set. After a kill by Williams, TSU took the lead at 11-10, forcing Belmont to call a timeout.

After the timeout, the Tigers went on a run scoring five of the next six points to go up 16-11. Right before the Tigers' 18^th point, senior Gina Rivera-Ortiz became the all-time leader in TSU history in digs with 1,692. Afterwards, both teams traded points with TSU reaching 20 first on an attack error by Belmont's Carly Mason to make it 20-16. Belmont clawed back into the match, tying the score at 22 on a kill by Kailee Bass, forcing a TSU timeout.

An attack error by Weldon made it set point. The Tigers then forced a deuce on a Williams kill. An attack error by Williams gave Belmont set point again but a Weldon kill knotted it up once more. This time, TSU took advantage of an attack error by Belmont's Izzy Schauer. After tying the score at 26, Taylor's service error made set point again. TSU took the set on an attack error by Mary Catherine Ball.

"The energy from the crowd helped us get through that set," said Sutton. "We were playing for Gina tonight. This was a big night for her. Breaking that record was huge. She has the rest of this year and possibly next year to make it out of reach. I truly believe that no one will be able to break (her record). She is the best libero that I have ever coached.

Set 3: Belmont 28-26

The third set was another nail biter with neither team being able to take more than a three-point advantage. This time, Belmont took the early advantage with an attack error by Holland. TSU junior Carla Boudal gave her team their first lead of the set on two consecutive service aces to make the score 4-2. Belmont then took the lead on a 3-0 run to make it 5-4. The Bruins stretched the lead to 9-6 on a kill by Floyd. A kill by TSU senior Aria Holmes tied the score at nine to get TSU back into the game. The Tigers then took the lead at 11-10 on a Rojecka kill to make it a 5-1 run. Both teams traded points with the Bruins taking a 15-14 advantage at the media break.

After the break, the teams once again went point for point until Belmont took a 20-18 lead on a kill by Missy Sterkel. The Tigers scored the next three points to take a 21-20 lead forcing a Belmont timeout. A kill by Holmes made it set point for TSU at 24-22. Belmont clawed back to force deuce, then extended the run to 3-0 to go up 25-24 forcing, a TSU timeout. After going to set point two more times, Belmont was finally able to finish the set out on an attack error by TSU's Kristian Marshall.

Set 4: TSU 25-17

TSU never trailed in the fourth set, starting it with Williams getting a kill. The Tigers stretched the lead to 9-3 but a kill by Belmont's Taylor Floyd stopped the TSU spurt. TSU stretched their lead to 12-5 on a kill by Rojecka. The Tigers made it 15-7 on kill by Holland to take an eight-point lead at the media break.

The Tigers kept the pressure on after the break,  going up 17-9, until the Bruins scored the next three points to force a TSU timeout. After the timeout, Belmont cut the lead to 17-13 but a Williams kill stopped the run at 4-0. The Bruins kept chipping at the lead, cutting the deficit to three points twice at 18-15 and 19-16. An attack error by Belmont's Lauren Walsh stretched TSU's lead to four at 20-16 and a kill by Rojecka made it 21-16. Another attack error by Walsh made it set point for the Tigers at 24-17. A kill by Williams finished the set, forcing a fifth set.

Set 5: Belmont 15-7

The Bruins took an early 3-0 lead before a service error by Belmont's Peyton Kelley got TSU on the board. An attack error by Williams gave Belmont a 5-2 lead. Two more service errors by Belmont kept TSU in the set early but Floyd's ace gave her team an 8-4 advantage,  forcing TSU to call a timeout. After the timeout, the Bruins extended the lead to 9-4. TSU couldn't get any closer than four, eventually falling 15-7 on a service ace by Peyton Kelley.

The Tigers will now finish their five game homestand with a doubleheader against Austin Peay.