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9/2/2009 - VOLLEYBALL
Belmont Hosts A-Sun Tournament of the Week
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Volleyball Weekly ReleaseMACON, Ga. - The Atlantic Sun’s Volleyball Tournament of the Week features matchups from the Belmont Invitational in Nashville, Tenn. Starting Friday evening, the Bruins, reigning A-Sun Conference champions, host Southeast Missouri State, Central Arkansas and Samford.
In 2008, Belmont won its second Atlantic Sun title in three years, defeating top-seeded Lipscomb in the final. The coaches tabbed the Bruins to finish second in their preseason poll and voted a pair of teammates, senior Jenny Gray and sophomore Channing Salava, on the 2009 Preseason All-Atlantic Sun Team. Belmont has challenged itself with an opening five-game schedule that included three 2008 NCAA Tournament participants. The Bruins look to continue their dominance at the Curb Event Center, where they emerged victorious in 27 of their last 31 home contests.
SEMO, out of the Ohio Valley Conference, squares off with Belmont first in a 5:00 p.m. CT contest on Friday. The coaches tabbed the Redhawks to finish third in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Last season, the Redhawks finished 13-14 overall, 11-7 in the OVC. SEMO returns nine letterwinners, including junior outside hitter Claire Keaton, who received First-Team Preseason All-OVC recognition, while senior outside hitter Karleigh DeLong and senior setter Sarah Barth earned Second-Team honors. The OVC also named Redhawks junior middle blocker Emily Hughes and Barth Offensive Player of the Week and Setter of the Week, respectively, for their efforts this past weekend at the Memphis Invitational.
Central Arkansas comes into 2009 out of a season in which it established a record for win percentage for a second consecutive year. Both the Southland’s coaches and sports information directors picked the Sugar Bears to repeat as East Division champions. Fifth-year head coach Steven McRoberts, the reigning SLC Coach of the Year, returns eight players with experience from last season’s 24-7 team, headlined by three conference award winners, senior Robyn Smith, junior Chloe Smith and sophomore Jessica Hays.
Samford boasts eight returning letter winners, three of whom started on its 2009 team. In 2008, the Bulldogs captured the program’s first division title in history, winning the Southern Conference’s North Division. Several young players return after gaining valuable experience a season ago, including All-Freshman team selection, Rachel Gadberry, and First-Team All-Southern Conference selection, Hillary Fountain. Belmont signifies the first 2008 NCAA Tournament team Samford faces this season. All three matches air on ASunTV.
Players to Watch
* Megan Clements, Belmont – After making the Louisville All-Invitational Team, Clements continued her stellar play as libero, setting a career-high 28 digs against Western Kentucky.
* Jenny Gray, Belmont – Gray earned Second-Team All-Conference honors after last season, where she led the Bruins in blocks. As team captain in 2009, Gray has the goal of leading the team to excellence.
* Channing Salava, Belmont – Salava earned Freshman of the Year and Second-Team All-Conference honors last season. In 2008, Salava ranked fourth in the A-Sun and 21st nationally with .47 aces per set.
Around the Sun - Volleyball
Belmont
* The Bruins went 0-4 at the Louisville Invitational last weekend. Belmont played three teams in the AVCA national polls, No. 18 Wichita State, Louisville (RV) and Arizona (RV). Dating back to the end of 2008, it is the first time since 2003 that the Bruins have lost five matches in a row.
* Junior libero Megan Clements tallied a total of 56 digs (3.73 digs per set), earning a spot on the alltournament team. Clements leads the conference with nine aces, while tying a career-high of four against Pittsburgh on Friday. With 23 recorded digs against Louisville, Clements registered her sixth career match with 20 or more digs.
* Two of Belmont’s outside hitters, junior Carly Frazier and sophomore Maggie Johnson, sit fourth and fifth in the A-Sun in kills per set. Frazier led the Bruins with a total of 48 kills on the weekend, recording a career-high of 21 kills against Pittsburgh. Johnson notched 44 total kills, pacing the Bruins in kills twice.
*Belmont hosts the Belmont Invitational with Central Arkansas, Southeast Missouri State and Samford.
Campbell
* Senior middle blocker Ashley Weers led Campbell volleyball to a perfect 4-0 record in the NC State Hilton RTP Classic, posting 39 kills and 12 total blocks on the weekend, earning her Atlantic Sun Player of the Week honors, a first for the Camels since Emily Werner earned the award during the last week of the 2007 season.
* Weers made the NC State Hilton RTP Classic All-Tournament Team for her efforts, along with teammate and fellow middle, junior Caitlin Bendy. Weers tallied double-digit points in all but one match in Raleigh, totaling 47.0 in the four match tournament.
* The tournament win also marks only the fourth time in program history that the Camels have run the table in a tournament, sweeping for the first time since 1997.
* After the set with High Point, Campbell will head to Charlottesville, Va. for the Virginia Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup this weekend. The Camels will battle Virginia Commonwealth and North Carolina Central in addition to the Cavaliers on Friday and Saturday.
ETSU
* Senior setter Amanda Youell earned All-Tournament team honors at the Comfort Inn and Suites Tournament in Morehead, Ky., posting 17 kills, 79 assists, 18 digs and six blocks on the weekend.
* The Bucs look for their first win this weekend. The team heads to Lynchburg, Va. for the Liberty Invitational presented by Pepsi. ETSU will take on the host at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and Elon and Howard Saturday.
FGCU
* FGCU earned its first victory of the season with a 3-1 victory over Prairie View A&M, as it concluded its portion of the Hurricane Invitational.
* Junior outside hitter Emma Racila earned a spot on the Miami Invitational All-Tournament Team.
* The Eagles will be in action next at the Holiday Inn LA Center Trojan Invitational in Los Angeles, Thursday at 10:00 p.m., when they take on the 16th-ranked University of Southern California.
* They will play Northern Arizona Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Los Angeles and will take on No. 21 Pepperdine Saturday at 4:00 p.m., before returning to Fort Myers.
* FGCU opens the home portion of its schedule against Belmont on September 18 at 5:00 p.m. at Alico Arena.
Jacksonville
* JU finished its opening weekend by placing third in the Radisson-UCF Invitational with 3-0 wins against Bethune-Cookman and FAU.
* The Dolphins featured a pair of teammates on the Radisson-UCF Invitational All-Tournament Team, senior libero Shelley Walroth and junior outside hitter Aidan Yeager.
* Just 44 digs shy of surpassing Ann Mullins (1,969) of Lipscomb for the A-Sun career record, Walroth collected 55 digs last weekend and needs just 74 to become the 26th player in Division 1 history to tally 2,000 career digs.
* Freshman outside hitter Alliya Drzewiecki, who ranked third on the squad with 16 kills in her debut weekend for the Dolphins, transferred from Florida State last season, sitting out as a redshirt.
* Freshman middle blocker Alison Loeppky, who will join the Dolphins this week, earned a gold medal after leading her squad to a win in the championship game of the Canadian Games.
Kennesaw State
* The Owls are off to their best start in program history, winning two of their first three matches.
* Senior Chelsey Denesha tallied 13 kills and 21 digs in KSU’s 3-2 win over Marist, while senior Asjia Stokes collected 14 kills and five blocks in a 3-1 win over Bryant.
* KSU will host the Great 8 Volleyball Challenge this weekend against challengers Alabama A&M, Nicholls State and Rider.
Lipscomb
* Junior outside hitter Alex Kelly earned a spot on the UT Lady Vol Classic All-Tournament after the Lady Bisons swept Western Kentucky and Tennessee Tech, before losing a close match to host Tennessee. Kelly finished with a match high 16 kills, added 10 digs against UT and notched a match high 15 kills, tying for a team high 13 digs against Western Kentucky. In the A-Sun Match of the Week against Tennessee Tech, Kelly made 11 kills and added a match 12 digs.
* Junior setter Stefine “Jake” Pease joined Kelly on the All-Tournament Team at the UT Lady Vol Classic.
* Transfer Meghan Hinemeyer, a junior outside hitter from Clemson, made her first appearance for the Lady Bisons. Hinemeyer averaged 2.89 kills and 2.56 digs per set in her first nine sets and collected a season-high 14 kills against Tennessee Tech and a season-high 13 digs against Western Kentucky.
* The Lady Bisons are on the road this week in the Jayhawks Classic at the University of Kansas.
Mercer
* Sophomore outside hitter Amiee Frutchey tallied 12 kills in two matches, but the Bears suffered two 3-0 losses to Georgia and Georgia Tech at the Regency Suites Invitational.
* Sophomore middle blocker Libby Hansch made the All-Tournament team after compiling 14 kills and four blocks in three contests. Against the Bulldogs, Hansch recorded five kills on eleven swings for a .364 hitting percentage.
* Senior setter Chelsea Gebben dished out a team match-high 10 assists, while facing the Yellow Jackets, as sophomore libero Ashley Skidmore posted a career best and team match-high eight digs.
* Mercer returns to action hosting the Bear Brawl this weekend against challengers Troy, Furman and Bethune-Cookman.
UNF
* UNF went 2-2 on the weekend when the Ospreys picked up the win against Bethune-Cookman in its final match of the 2009 UCF Classic.
* Junior Danielle Lerch led the Ospreys with 12 kills, while sophomore Julie Fye recorded a double-double on the match with 11 digs and 27 assists.
* In the season opener for both UNF and FAU in the UCF Classic, junior middle blocker Kaley Read led all attackers with a career-high 28 kills. Read also posted 12 digs for a double-double. Junior outside hitter Naellis Sanfeliz added 15 kills, while setter Jessica Catelano added 52 assists and 12 digs. Freshman Paige Pridgeon tallied a team-high 15 digs.
* UNF returns to the court this weekend at the Appalachian State Invitational in Boone, N.C. at the Holmes Convocation Center.
USC Upstate
* Sophomore Morgan Thomas earned a slot on the Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational All-Tournament Team Saturday night, a second all-tournament selection in Thomas’ career. She also earned Provisional Invitational All-Tournament honors to cap her freshman season.
* Thomas, who helped the Spartans finish 2-2 at the tournament and in third place, finished the event averaging 2.0 kills and 1.21 blocks per set.
* Thomas’ 1.21 blocks per set ranks third in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
* USC Upstate returns home to the Hodge Center to prepare for the USC Upstate Volleyball Classic, which starts Friday. Upstate will face The Citadel at 7:30 p.m. on Friday before facing N.C. State and UNC Asheville on Saturday.
Stetson
* The Stetson volleyball team dropped to 0-3 on the young season with a pair of losses on Saturday at the Holiday Inn Georgia Southern University Invitational.
* Sophomore outside hitter Kaylee Ream had 16 kills on the day and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
* The Hatters host the Holiday Inn Stetson Invitational this weekend at the Edmunds Center. Southern Illinois and Florida A&M will be in town for the event, which starts at 1:00 p.m. on Friday with Stetson facing SIU.
The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most 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.
