Box Score WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.—Belmont (4-7) lost to host Purdue
(8-1) in straight sets, 0-3, in the final match of the Active Ankle
Challenge. The Bruins went 1-2 in the weekend tournament.
In the final match, Belmont got double-digit kill production
from junior Maggie
Johnson (Naperville, Ill.), who led the team with 12 kills, and
from senior Kayla
Albritton (Gainesville, Fla.), who finished with 11 kills.
Albritton was also named to the All-Tournament team. She has now
earned all-tourney honors in each tournament the Bruins have
competed in.
The Bruins had hoped to use their strong service game to their
advantage against the Boilermakers, but were only able to score two
aces and committed 12 service errors in the loss. Although it was
the first time this season Belmont has been swept, the 0-3 score
does not reflect the way the Bruins competed against a tough
program out of a tough conference.
"We played fairly well tonight," Head Coach Deane Webb said
following the loss, "and lost to a better team."
While the outcome was disappointing, the individual performances
by Johnson and Albritton were positives to take away from the
match.
"After a slow start offensively, it was good to see both Maggie
and Kayla find success against a very physical Purdue front line,"
Webb said.
With traditionally one of the toughest non-conference schedules
in the Atlantic Sun Conference, Webb believes in challenging his
team early and giving them ample learning opportunities against
good competition before starting conference play. The performance
of his team in a win over Connecticut out of the Big East, in
portions of an intense and close match against Duquesne out of the
Atlantic 10 and in the way the young Bruins played tonight against
Purdue out of the Big Ten is promising for Belmont as they continue
their challenging schedule in non-conference play.
"We take away from this weekend that we can attack for a high
percentage against more physical teams, and that we need to focus
on serve receive to make that happen," Webb said. "We also
take away that we need to be more disciplined defensively and focus
on finishing matches when we have the opportunity."
The Bruins will have an opportunity to show their improvement
when they return home to face rival and Atlantic Sun leaders
Lipscomb in a 5 p.m. match at the Curb Event Center.
"Lipscomb is off to a great start and have had some good wins
already," Webb said. "They have the best two players in the
conference, and they are balanced offensively. We are looking
forward to competing against a great team."
Post Match Quotes
