Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Belmont volleyball held on to sweep Jacksonville State in three sets (25-19, 25-22, 30-28) Friday evening in the Curb Event Center.
The Bruins seemed determined from the first serve as Belmont jumped out to a quick, 5-1 advantage in the opening stanza.
With Belmont leading 13-10 midway through the set, the Bruin hitters heated up as BU recorded seven of the next 10 points all of which were kills.
JSU rallied to get within three points, 21-18, but Belmont tallied four of the next five points in order to capture the set, 25-19.
The Bruins led late in the second stanza, 21-16, before Jacksonville State went on a run to pull within a single point, 21-20.
BU responded to the JSU rally attempt by tallying the next three points, setting up set point, 24-20.
Back-to-back JSU kills extended the stanza for the Gamecocks but the Bruins ended the rally off a kill by middle blocker Maddison Croft (Edwardsville, Ill.) as Belmont took the set, 25-22, and went up two sets to none heading into intermission.
Things were looking good for the Bruins in the third set as Belmont took a 14-10 lead off a kill by senior Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.).
With their hopes of extending the match in jeopardy, Jacksonville State (16-14, 7-6 OVC) mounted a furious comeback attempt as the Gamecocks tallied seven consecutive points in order to pull ahead, 17-14, causing the Bruins to take a timeout.
With Belmont still trailing, 19-16, the Bruins answered by tallying the next four points in order to push ahead, 20-19, causing a JSU timeout.
Out of the huddle, the Gamecocks notched four of the next five points as a BU sweep looked to be in jeopardy with JSU leading, 23-21.
Back-to-back blocks by senior Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) tied the set and a Gable kill gave the Bruins their first chance of ending the match, 24-23.
Back-and-forth play followed as JSU was determined to extend the match into a fourth set.
A Gable kill gave the Bruins their fourth match point of the night and a monstrous kill by freshman Arianna Person (Lenexa, Kan.) ended the thrilling set, 30-28, and gave Belmont its seventh sweep on the year.
Overall, Gable led the Bruins with 14 kills while Person added a double-double with 13 kills and a team-best 15 digs.
Martin finished with five blocks on the evening, two of which were solo efforts.
Setter Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) finished with another double-double effort with a match-best 41 assists to go with 12 digs.
On the match, Belmont recorded a .213 hitting percentage and limited JSU to a .128 clip.
Belmont (14-13, 10-3 OVC) returns to action tomorrow as the Bruins are set to host Tennessee Tech at 2 p.m. CT. at the Curb Event Center.
