JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — The Bellarmine University women's soccer team has had its ups and downs this season, but the Knights have only elevated their performance in the postseason.

On Friday evening at the Woehrle Athletic Complex, fifth-seeded Bellarmine emphatically punched its ticket to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament finals with a resounding 3-0 victory over top-seeded Truman State.

"That's obviously a wonderful result against a team we have a lot respect for in Truman State," Bellarmine Coach Chris Tinius said. "I thought our girls were focused to get off to a fast start and it paid dividends."

Sophomore forward Natalie Teo, senior midfielder Audrey Van Der Elst and junior forward Olivia Taylor each scored a goal against Truman State (14-4-1) while Van Der Elst and sophomore midfielder Samantha Ferry tallied assists for Bellarmine (11-5-3), which will meet seven-seed Rockhurst at 3 p.m. (ET) Sunday with the GLVC Tournament championship at stake. The Hawks advanced after defeating three-seed Southern Indiana in a penalty kick shootout.

Bellarmine will be making its first appearance in the title game since 2011. The Knights won their lone championship that season after defeating Quincy in a penalty kick shootout.

Friday's triumph tied the highest margin of victory in program history for Bellarmine in the GLVC Tournament — the Knights also claimed a 3-0 win over Indianapolis in 2011. The march to victory began early as Teo headed in a Van Der Elst corner kick in the seventh minute. It was Teo's fifth goal of the season and stood as her fourth game-winner.

Van Der Elst followed her sixth assist of the season with her seventh goal in the 30th minute to boost Bellarmine's lead to 2-0. After receiving a pass from Ferry, Van Der Elst laced a shot that cleared a defender inside the goal area and zipped past the goalkeeper for a goal inside the far post.

Taylor put the match away in the second half. From a difficult angle near the right side of the box, Taylor launched a shot over the leaping goalkeeper into the back corner of the net for a 3-0 lead in the 64th minute.

Bellarmine made the most of its chances, sinking three of its eight shots. Truman State collected 11 shots. Knights sophomore goalkeeper Elyssa Francis notched six saves as the defense posted its 10th shutout.

"It wasn't the most clean game at times, but the intensity of tournament time can do that to you sometimes," Tinius said. "We again managed things very well once we got the lead and we're moving on."

Moving on to meet Rockhurst, which Bellarmine defeated 3-2 in overtime on Oct. 7 after tying the match with less than two minutes left in regulation and then scoring a little over one minute into the extra frame.

"The name of the game now is rest and recovery," Tinius said. "Rockhurst has some dynamic players that we'll have to deal with on Sunday."

For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights), Facebook (BUKnights) and the BUKnights mobile app available for iPhone and Android.

BOX SCORE (HTM)