CARBONDALE, Ill.— Bellarmine volleyball started the Saluki Invitational with authority on Friday.  The Knights handled Southeast Missouri State 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-15) in their first match and dominated Alabama A&M 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-14) in the second match of the day.
 
Bellarmine's (5-6) performance marks the second time this season the Knights have pulled off back-to-back wins – the first time since the opening week of the season. 
 
Game 1 vs. SEMO:
 
The first set of the day was certainly not indicative of how the next six would go.  Bellarmine fell behind early in set one against SEMO and never recovered. 
 
The Knights, however, completely changed the narrative of their day starting in set two.  Again down early by a score of 10-3, Bellarmine slowly cut into SEMO's advantage.  Then, down 18-13, the Knights went on a 7-0 run to give them the lead for good in the second set. 
 
A back-and-forth third set was finished by a Jayda Harris kill, and Bellarmine carried that momentum into set four, cruising to their match-closing victory.
 
The Knights were very efficient offensively, posting a .299 hit percentage, including a mark above .300 in the final three sets.  Jayme Scott was again fantastic, turning in 20 kills with a .359 hit percentage.  Gabby Brissett racked up 11 kills, while Bailey Venard and Harris had nine each.  Scott had a team-best three aces while Emily Arnold had two aces and season-high 48 assists
 
Defensively, Anna Lococo piled up a season-best 22 digs, while Scott, Harris, and Brissett each had a pair of blocks.
 
"After a slow start, I loved the way we battled against a NCAA tournament team from this past season," Knights Head Coach Rick Nold said.  "We made some defensive adjustments after game one, and I thought we became much more aggressive offensively."
 
Game 2 vs. Alabama A&M:
 
Match two started fast and ended fast for the Knights – in a good way.  Bellarmine scored the first six points of set one and steam-rolled its way to win no. 5 of the season.  BU trailed for just one point the entire match.
 
Bellarmine spread the wealth over three sets, resulting in nine kills for Scott, nine for Brissett, eight kills for Venard, and eight for Kylie VanHoy.  Morgan Caba and Tessa Nauert were excellent at the service line, turning in four and three aces respectively.  Arnold again orchestrated the offense and posted 34 assists, while Lococo had eight digs.
 
As a team, the Knights churned out their best hit percentage of the season at .403.  Bellarmine held a 30-17 edge in digs and 9-1 advantage in aces.
 
"I was really happy with how steady we played from an offensive standpoint against Alabama A&M," Nold added.  "It was a quick turnaround, but we really came out and kept the pressure on them."
 
Bellarmine closes out the Saluki Invitational tomorrow with a matchup against host Southern Illinois.  First serve is at 2:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. CT), and the action can be viewed on ESPN3.
 
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