Volleyball Headlines A-Sun All-Conference Awards
MACON, Ga. - - Belmont finished the season with 20 wins, a share of the regular season title and the top seed in the conference tournament. The Bruins added even more honors to that list as the Atlantic Sun All-Conference teams were announced Tuesday. Senior Maggie Johnson was named Co-Player of the Year, sophomore Jamie Lundstrom picked up Libero of the Year honors, and Head Coach Deane Webb was voted Coach of the Year. Additionally, the Bruins placed five players on All-Conference teams, including three on the First Team.
Joining Johnson and Lundstrom on the First Team was sophomore setter Hannah Miranda. Like Johnson and Lundstrom, Miranda also led the conference in her respective category, ranking first in assists throughout the season. Johnson led the conference in points and kills, while Lundstrom led the league in digs. The All-Conference first team honor was the second for Johnson, who was also named to the first team in 2009. She was an All-Freshman team selection in 2008 and a second team pick in 2010 before being voted the Preseason Player of the Year earlier this season. The All-Conference nod is the second for Miranda, who was a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman team last year, and a first for Lundstrom.
Sophomore Jen Myer was a Second Team selection for the Bruins, the first all-conference honor of her career. Myer leads the nation in service aces per set (0.83), led the conference in aces throughout the season and ranked in the top five in points. She set a new school, conference, and NCAA mark with 11 aces against Jacksonville in October. Scarlet Gable, the only freshman to see significant playing time for the Bruins this season, appearing in all of the team's 103 sets, was named to the All-Freshman team.
The Co-Player of the Year honor was the second major award for Johnson on Tuesday, as she was also named the Scholar Athlete of the Year and a member of the Atlantic Sun All-Academic Team. On Monday, Johnson picked up her third Conference Player of the Week honor of the season after helping Belmont to a 2-0 weekend with two sweeps on the road. The wins gave the Bruins the top seed in the conference tournament and helped Belmont claim a share of its first ever regular season title. Johnson has set new school single season marks in kills and attacks this season, and currently ranks third in career kills at Belmont and first in career attacks. She will leave Belmont as one of the top players in school history, needs just 22 more kills to move into second in A-Sun history in kills, and is the active leader in kills in the Atlantic Sun.
Belmont will face the winner of the Kennesaw State/ETSU match on Friday, Nov. 17th, in the semifinal round of the A-Sun tournament. The 2011 tournament is hosted by Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn. The match will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Allen Arena and will be broadcast on ASun.TV.
