KIRKSVILLE, Mo.—The Bellarmine Knights polished off a near-perfect weekend by sweeping the Truman State Bulldogs in a Great Lakes Valley Conference match on Saturday afternoon in Pershing Arena.
 
Less than 24 hours after defeating Quincy in straight sets for their first GLVC road win, the Knights duplicated the feat by downing TSU 25-11, 25-23, 25-18. With Bellarmine closing its recent home stand with a 3-0 win over Maryville last Saturday, today's result gave the Knights their third straight sweep. 

In the recent surge, Bellarmine has enjoyed statistical advantages both offensively and defensively, and the same was true today against the Bulldogs. On the attack, Bellarmine doubled the Truman State kill total of 20, and on the other side of the net, the Knights were plus-15 in digs (60-45) and held a 7-5 edge in blocks.  The Bellarmine defense limited the Bulldogs to a negative hitting percentage for the match (-.009).
 
Bellarmine Coach Jenni Grzebin, who has been forced to play with a limited rotation due to a few injuries, said there were several outstanding performances tonight.  Junior middle Izzie Salameh rang up 10 kills while hitting .348 and chalking up three block assists.  Freshman Jayme Scott turned in her second straight double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs while setter Kristen O'Toole came up just shy of the accomplishment with 27 assists and nine digs. Freshman defensive specialist Emily Ernst recorded 16 digs to set a new career high.
 
The Knights got the match started on the right foot by cruising to a 25-11 win in the first set. Leading 8-6, Bellarmine used a 9-1 run to create separation, then closed the game by winning the final five points.  In the second set, the host Bulldogs were in control 21-18, but the Knights came back with a 5-0 run and won seven of the final nine points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.  Bellarmine again used a 5-0 run in the late stages of game three to create separation and complete the sweep.  
 
The Knights win for the 12th time this season with just four losses as they see their GLVC record improve to 3-1.  Truman State slips to 7-9, 1-3 GLVC.
 
Bellarmine returns home for just one match before hitting the road again next week.  The Knights host Indianapolis in a rare Tuesday night match at 7 p.m., then play at Illinois-Springfield and Lewis on the weekend.
 
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