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11/19/2008 - VOLLEYBALL
Bisons Look for Repeat win in 2008
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MACON, Ga. - Returning to Mercer's University Center, for only the second time in conference history, the 2008 Atlantic Sun Volleyball Championship starts Thursday when Jacksonville faces Campbell at 5:00 p.m. All of the A-Sun matches can be seen on ASun.TV through the weekend.
After receiving a bye in the first round of competition, the Lipscomb Lady Bisons will start the defense of their title in the semifinals on Friday. Lipscomb finished fourth in conference play in 2007, but the Lady Bisons tore through the conference tournament, sweeping three matches en route to the first NCAA berth in school history. Lipscomb enters this year's championship as the top seed after defeating ten of its 11 conference opponents. Of the tournament field, only Belmont has defeated Lipscomb this season. With another tournament title, the Lady Bisons would become the first team to successfully defend their title since UCF won three straight from 2001-2003.
Sophomore Player of the Year Alex Kelly leads the A-Sun in kills with 474. In one of her top performances, the outside hitter had a .500 attack percentage, 28 kills and 48 attempts against USC Upstate. Kelly ranks 29th in the nation in kills per set with an average of 4.05. She earned three Player of the Week awards in the 2008 season. Collegiate Volleyball Update named Kelly its national player of the week from Nov. 3 to Nov. 9.
The third-seeded Jacksonville Dolphins kick off the tournament taking on the sixth-seeded Campbell Camels. Defensive Player of the Year Shelley Walroth looks to lead the Dolphins to a third straight championship match. The libero ranks fourth in the nation with 5.89 digs per set. The junior psychology major also earned honors for her work in the classroom when she was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Third team.
Walroth's teammate Sara Bendorf also earned first-team all-conference honors and currently ranks 39th nationally in kills per set with 3.91. In the final match of the regular season, Bendorf led the Dolphin offense with a match-high 17 kills while hitting .472 (17-0-36) and tallying her team-leading 13th double-double with 12 digs. In her final year, Bendorf became only the second Dolphin to win more than one player of the week award. The senior is credited with two and former Jacksonville player Radka Dimitrovain earned three between the 2002 and 2003 seasons.
The second match on Thursday will feature the fourth-seeded Mercer Bears and fifth-seeded ETSU Buccaneers. In the 23 years of the volleyball tournament, the host institution has won the championship seven times, most recently Belmont in 2006. UCF won as the host institution the most times, taking four titles in its 11 seasons hosting the championship.
Seniors Karen Dorris and Claire Tucker, landed spots on all-conference second-team after leading the Bears to an 18-10 (13-7 A-Sun) record in regular season play. Freshman outside hitter Amiee Frutchey garnered an All-Freshman Team selection. The 2008 Mercer squad tied the 1995 team with the most number of players honored as post-season all-conference selections. Noelle Rooke became the first conference coach of the year in program history.
Making their fourth straight tournament appearance, the ETSU Buccaneers are still looking for their first A-Sun tournament win. This is the first time the Bears and the Bucs will meet in the tournament. During the regular season the Bears dominated the Bucs in Macon, Ga., 3-0. Mercer fought a little harder when they traveled to Johnson City, Tenn., but came out on top in a five-set match, 3-2.
The Belmont Bruins receive a bye in the first round of the championship. Freshman of the Year Channing Salava leads the Bruins in search of their second title in three years. Replacing four-time first-team all-conference selection Colleen Nilson, Salava directed Belmont to the No. 2 seed at this week’s championship averaging 9.76 assists per set en route to earning All-Conference and unanimous All-Freshmen team selections.
Despite winning back-to-back regular season titles in its first two seasons as an Atlantic Sun member, Florida Gulf Coast University is ineligible for postseason competition while completing NCAA reclassification requirements. The Eagles are one of four current member institutions transitioning from Division II to Division I. They will be eligible for inclusion in the conference tournament beginning in 2009.
Since the NCAA instituted the rally scoring format in 2001, the top seed has claimed the tournament title three times. In the three other tournaments, the top seed failed to make the championship round, bowing out in the semifinals. The most successful seed in the past seven seasons is the second seed; reaching five of the last seven championship rounds, and winning twice.
The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.
