NASHVILLE, Tenn.-- The Belmont volleyball team will be in action
once again this weekend as part of the Active Ankle Challenge
hosted by Purdue University. The Bruins will head to West
Lafeyette, Ind., Friday, Sept. 10-Saturday, Sept. 11 to take on
Connecticut, Duquesne and Purdue, all first time opponents for
Belmont.
The Bruins are 3-5 heading into the weekend tournament. Belmont
will open play with an 11 a.m. match against Connecticut (2-1) on
Friday. The meeting is the first ever between the two programs, but
it is the second meeting between the Bruins and a Big East team
this season. Belmont fell 3-2 to Notre Dame last weekend in the
Nevada Invitational. All-time against the Big East the Bruins own a
3-4 record, including a 1-3 mark at neutral sites.
Belmont will follow the morning meeting against UCONN with a
Friday afternoon match against Duquesne with first serve set for 4
p.m. The Dukes are 6-2 coming into the weekend. This is the first
meeting for Belmont and Duquesne and the first ever for the Bruins
and a school from the Atlantic 10 conference.
The final match of the weekend will see the Bruins facing off
agains the host Purdue Boilermakers (5-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday. The
meeting is the first between the two schools and only the third
meeting between Belmont and a Big Ten school. The last meeting for
the Bruins with a Big Ten team was in the 2006 NCAA Tournament
First Round against Ohio State. Belmont fell to the Buckeyes, 0-3.
The Bruins will look to halt the Boilermakers' three match win
streak. Purdue swept the Pittsburgh tournament, dropping only one
set over the weekend.
The Bruins continue to face one of the toughest schedules in the
Atlantic Sun, competing in four non-conference tournaments and
playing in three other non-conference matches before kicking off
A-Sun play with Florida Gulf Coast on Sept. 25. Belmont is 54-78
all time in non-conference tournaments, including a 38-62 record
since becoming a Division I institution and a 24-22 mark under Head
Coach Deane Webb. The team will look to improve on that mark with
three matches this weekend and another three matches down the road
in a tournament at Chattanooga next weekend.
More information on the Active Ankle Challenge, including live
stat links, is available at: http://www.purduesports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/10-active-ankle.html.
Match Notes
