Box Score CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Belmont volleyball won its third-straight Ohio Valley Conference match Saturday afternoon as the Bruins earned a sweep at Southeast Missouri State (25-16, 25-20, 25-17).
Led by the senior duo of Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.) and Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.), Belmont recorded its second-best offensive performance of the year as the Bruins finished with a team hitting percentage of .345, laying down a combined 47 kills off 110 attempts.
BU used a 7-1 run midway through the opening set as the visitors extended a 12-9 advantage into a healthier 19-10 edge. Belmont never looked back using back-to-back kills from Gable and Martin to take the set, 25-16.
The second stanza proved to be tighter affair as a single point separated the two teams late with BU holding a slight, 20-19 advantage.
A Bruin senior responded once again as Martin led the way, putting down three kills in helping the Bruins tally five of the next six points as Belmont captured the set, 25-20 and went up two sets to none heading into intermission.
The Bruins found themselves up 19-17 late in the third set as two-straight RedHawk kills pulled SEMO into a striking distance of extending the match into a fourth set.
Six-straight Belmont points, however, ended the home team's rally as a kill and a pair of service aces from Gable helped propel the Bruins to end the set, 25-17, and the match, 3-0.
Gable led Belmont (12-12, 8-2) with a double-double of 14 kills and 13 digs as the veteran outside hitter recorded a .414 hitting percentage on the contest.
Martin also finished with double-digit kills as the veteran middle blocker finished with a .409 hitting percentage on 11 kills off 11 attacks.
Libero Ellie Ivancich (Naperville, Ill.) tied for a match-best with 13 digs while setter Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) produced a solid night with 44 assists and seven digs.
Outsider hitter Taylor Masterson paced SEMO (9-15, 5-5 OVC) with 12 kills off a .429 hitting percentage.
Belmont returns to action this Friday, Oct. 31, as the Bruins hit the road once again for a Halloween night contest at Morehead State at 6 p.m. CT.
