Highlanders Fend Off Knights, Gage Surpasses 1,000 Career Assists in Saturday Triumph

Saturday, September 19

Radford, Va.

4:00 PM

Radford University

6-8,0-0Big South

Bellarmine

6-5,0-0ASUN

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Bellarmine	16	25	25	20	9	2
Radford	25	22	17	25	15	3

Photo by: Matthew Maldonado

Highlanders Fend Off Knights, Gage Surpasses 1,000 Career Assists in Saturday Triumph

9/19/2026 8:18:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford volleyball team followed up their perfect performance on Friday with a thrilling five set victory over Bellarmine on Saturday to take all three of their Highlander Invite games this weekend at the Dedmon Center.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Lea Gage totaled 45 assists, easily crashing past the three needed for her to reach 1,000 career assists as a setter.
Addison Cunnagin and Macie Potter each contributed with a dozen kills. Taryn Roberts also reached double figures, having 11.
Cunnagin and Potter also finished with a double-double in kills and digs, with each having 11 in the win.
Though the Highlanders finished with less kills, they totaled two fewer errors and two more aces than the Knights.
This is the first time Radford has swept and won a multi-team event since Sept. 7-8, 2018, when they defeated Saint Francis (Pa.), Penn, and Lehigh at the Valley Forge Sports Invite.

PLAY BY PLAY
Several attack errors from Bellarmine began the first set, giving Radford a great start. Things stabilized for the Knights, as they managed to rally back to tie things at 5-5. With the score 8-8, Potter got going for a kill, then Roberts logged two-straight kills to make it a three-point Radford lead. Several more errors from Bellarmine gave Radford a 15-11 advantage into the media break. The Highlanders began to runaway with it with Mia Jannazzo serving – she scored three aces in a six-point Radford run to make it 21-12 late, allowing the Highlanders to cruise to a 25-16 win.

The second set started much like the first, as several spurts gave the Highlanders a 7-4, 9-5, and 11-7 lead, with the last score coming after a Gage ace. Just one point away from a media break, Bellarmine capitalized on some mishits on attacks, as well as an ace, to get back within one. Radford did reach 15 points before Bellarmine did, but the Knights were back in the set. They tied it at 20-20 and later at 22-22 following a service error by Jannazzo. Two late aces by Abbie Lyttel evened the score at 1-1.

Needing to bounce back, Radford found themselves ahead early thanks to some nice plays from Roberts and Potter. Another Highlander ace, this time by Aubrey Hatch, followed by a Cunnagin kill made it 9-6 Highlanders in set three. Bellarmine would rally to take their first lead at the 12-point mark, then pull ahead by as many as eight points to take a secure 2-1 lead.

Radford played with poise in the fourth set with their backs against the wall. Roberts started the set off with a kill, and Riley Greene followed to make it 2-0 out of the gates. Later, a kill from Cunnagin and several attack errors from Bellarmine allowed the Highlanders to go ahead by four (9-5). Both teams essentially traded points the rest of the way. Bellarmine got within two after Hatch's service error, but several kills by Greene and Roberts helped Radford force a fifth set with a 25-20 win.

Roberts scored the first point in the fifth set, and Radford set off on their way to a thrilling win. Potter added the kill to make it 3-2 Highlanders, which set herself up for some solid serves and a six-point run for the home team. Several kills from Roberts and Hatch late grew the advantage to 12-4 Highlanders, and a service error by Bellarmine after a couple of desperately taken timeouts gave Radford a 15-9 set win and 3-2 win on the day.

UP NEXT
The Highlanders look to keep the momentum going as they begin Big South Conference play next Friday at High Point. The contest against the Panthers is set to begin at 6:00 p.m., with live streaming on ESPN+.

STAY SOCIAL WITH RADFORD VOLLEYBALL
For all the latest on Radford men's soccer, be sure to follow the team on X (@RadfordVB), Instagram (@radfordvb), and "like" the team's official Facebook Page (Radford Volleyball).

#RiseAndDefend