LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Bellarmine Knights made strong opening statement with a 25-21 set one victory over Tennessee State, but the Tigers' depth and balanced attack eventually staked the visitors to a 3-1 victory in the final match of the Bellarmine Invitational at Knights Hall on Saturday night.
 
Both squads had come into the match having swept George Washington in earlier tourney matches, so the Saturday night contest was essentially the championship of the round robin affair.
 
Playing short-handed due to a rash of recent injuries, the Knights put up a good fight against a TSU team that has opened the 2021 season with five straight victories.  Again tonight, Jayme Scott was the match and team leader in kills, collecting 22 against the Tigers.
 
Tennessee State combatted Scott's big numbers with a solid team effort that saw four players with 12 or more kills.  Leading the way for the Tigers was Aria Holmes, who was a force on both sides of the net.  Offensively, she rang up 15 kills and on the defensive side, totaled 10 assisted blocks.  For her efforts, Holmes was named the Bellarmine Invitational Most Valuable Player.
 
After Bellarmine took the first set and then opened a 12-6 lead in the second, the Tigers clawed their way back, posting a 25-22 win to square the match at one set apiece. The final two sets were tight with the visitors eking out narrow 25-23 and 26-24 victories.
 
Bolstered by a 13-4 advantage in team blocks, Tennessee State limited the Knights to a .197 attack percentage while the Tigers swung at a .257 clip.
 
The Knights got another solid effort from junior Ashley Price, who hammered home 13 kills while hitting .300, and Seville Gates continued her impressive freshman campaign by contributing 10 kills and three assisted blocks. Bellarmine setter Emily Arnold recorded a double-double with 44 assists and 10 digs while libero Anna Lococo was the Bellarmine dig leader with 16.
 
Scott and Price joined TSU's Holmes on the Bellarmine Invitational All-Tournament Team.  Rounding out the All-Tourney selections were Tennessee State's Kendall Washington and Gina Rivera-Ortiz and George Washington's Bella Bowman.
 
The Knights now have a long break before playing in their home arena again.  Next up for Bellarmine are  4-team tournaments at Appalachian State and Virginia, and then the Knights will compete in three ASUN Conference matches held in Nashville, Tennessee.   The next home match for Bellarmine comes Oct. 1 against ASUN foe North Alabama.
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