NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - The Belmont volleyball team is back in
action this Friday in the Nevada Invitational. The Bruins will
travel to Reno, Nev., to take on Notre Dame at 6 p.m. Friday, then
face host Nevada at 2 p.m. Saturday, and finish the weekend against
Weber State at 7 p.m.
The Nevada Invitational caps off a four match road swing for the
Bruins, who fell to 2-2 after a 1-3 loss at Tennessee Tech Tuesday
night. Coming into the tournament, Belmont is 37-60 (since becoming
Division I) in non-conference tournaments, going 2-1 in the Belmont
Invitational last weekend to open the 2010 season.
Belmont is led by junior outside hitter Maggie
Johnson (Naperville, Ill.,) and senior outside hitter Kayla
Albritton (Gainesville, Fla.). Johnson, a 2010 Preseason
All-Conference selection, leads the Bruins in kills with 59 (3.93
k/s) and total attacks with 170. Her 59 kills place her third in
the Atlantic Sun Conference. Albritton is second on the team in
kills with 44, third in hitting percentage (.311), and leads the
team with nine service aces, which is also the best mark in the
conference so far this season.
Also turning in solid performances for the Bruins are senior
middle hitter Tara Blood
(Boise, Idaho), who leads the team in blocks with 17 (second in the
Atlantic Sun), has the top mark in hitting percentage with .333,
and sits third on the team in kills with 30, as well as freshman
setter Hannah
Miranda (Covington, La.), who leads Belmont with 140 assists, a
mark good enough for third in the conference. The Bruins are in the
top five in the Atlantic Sun in six out of seven statistical
categories, including leading the league in hitting percentage,
opponent hitting percentage, and service aces.
The Bruins will look to use the three matches this weekend to
get back on track after a disappointing road loss to Tennessee Tech
in which the team committed 30 hitting errors. The loss came on the
heels of a strong performance in the Belmont Invitational, where
the Bruins went 2-1 over the opening weekend. Getting wins in
Nevada will be challenging against tough competition from Notre
Dame out of the Big East conference, a team that received votes in
the final 2009 AVCA Coaches' Poll and in the 2010 Preseason
Coaches' Poll. The Fighting Irish opened the season 2-1 in their
home Shamrock Invitational, with the single loss coming to No. 18
Arizona in three sets. Belmont will also face the home team,
Nevada, out of the WAC, which opened 2010 1-2 in the Missouri Tiger
Invitational, and Weber State from the Big Sky, which enters the
Invitational still searching for the first win of 2010 at 0-4.
The match up with Notre Dame on Friday is the first between the
two schools. However, Notre Dame will be the seventh Big East
opponent for the Bruins, including the third in the past two years.
Last season, Belmont faced Pittsburgh and Louisville in the
Louisville Invitational, dropping both matches to those Big East
foes. Overall, the Bruins are 3-4 against teams from the Big East.
Belmont will also take on Big East team Connecticut next weekend in
the Active Ankle Challenge, hosted by Purdue University.
The meeting with Nevada is another first between the two
schools. Belmont owns a 1-1 record against teams from the Western
Athletic Conference. The Bruins will take on their third first-time
opponent of the weekend when they face Weber State on Saturday. It
is also the first meeting between Belmont and a member of the Big
Sky Conference.
The Bruins return home for a Tuesday game against Chattanooga,
Sept. 7,with first serve set for 7 p.m. This weekend's action kicks
off at 6 p.m. on Friday, with live stats available through the
Nevada web site, www.nevadawolfpack.com.
Game Notes
