NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Belmont (20-8, 11-2 A-Sun), the top seed in this week's Atlantic Sun volleyball tournament, will take on No. 5 ETSU. The Bruins will be the second semifinal match on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The match will be broadcast free of charge on ASun.TV.
Belmont has played ETSU twice already this season and has beaten the Buccanneers twice. The Bruins concluded conference play with a straight set sweep of ETSU last Saturday to clinch a share of their first ever regular season championship and the top seed in the tournament. ETSU came back from a 0-2 deficit to defeat Kennesaw State in five sets last evening to advance to tonight's semifinals.
Belmont enters the tournament semifinals as the top seed for the second time in school history. The Bruins defeated ETSU on the road last weekend to earn a share of their first ever regular season title. Belmont was previously the top seed in the 2007 tournament. That year, FGCU was the regular season champions, but were inelligible for the postseason tournament during NCAA reclassifying. The Bruins won 20 games for the first time since 2008, which was the last time Belmont claimed the A-Sun Tournament title.
ETSU clinched a spot in the tournament in the final week of conference play with an upset 3-2 win over Lipscomb at home. The Buccanneers were the three seed in last season's tournament and earned a spot in the finals after defeating second-seed Kennesaw State. ETSU lost in the finals to Lipscomb, but would love the opportunity to get back to that game this season. The Bucs are led by sophomore standout Megan Devine, who finished second in the conference in kills and points, who joined Belmont's Johnson and KSU's Young on the All-Conference team.
CONFERENCE RECAP
Bruins Earn First Regular Season Title
Belmont, voted by league coaches to finish third in the conference this season, finished the regular season as a surprise co-champion and the top seed in the conference tournament. Going into the final week of conference play, Belmont had a solid grip on the number two seed behind league-leading Lipscomb. The Bruins and Lady Bisons split the regular season meetings, but Belmont suffered a loss to Florida Gulf Coast to fall a game behind first place with two to play. Belmont took care of business against USC Upstate, while ETSU upset Lipscomb in Johnson City, providing the Bruins with a chance to control their own destiny for the first time since losing on the road at Lipscomb. Belmont would need to pick up a win at ETSU, something the Bruins had done only once in four tries, to earn a share of the conference regular season title and the top seed in the tournament. The Bruins did just that, sweeping the Buccaneers in straight sets to claim their first ever regular season title and earn the number one seed in the tournament for the second time in school history.
Hot Start Gives Belmont a Head Start in Conference Race
After starting the season 2-5, Belmont closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule strong, winning six of its final seven matches. The Bruins opened A-Sun play on the road, traveling to Kennesaw State, the team picked ahead of Belmont in the Preseason Poll, and Mercer. Belmont fell at home to the Owls in 2010, losing in five sets after holding a two sets to none lead, a loss the ultimately haunted the Bruins late in the season. Belmont avenged that loss, winning in four sets at Kennesaw State before taking a four set win at Mercer. It was the start of a four match win-streak in conference play and pushed the Bruins' overall win streak to seven straight heading into the first match against also-undefeated Lipscomb.
Battle of the Boulevard, Part I
Both teams entered the match undefeated in conference play and riding win streaks and were leading the conference standings in nearly every statistical category. As expected, the match was an even, back and forth contest that ultimately involved extended sets and a full five-set frame to decide the winner. Lipscomb prevailed at home, taking a one game lead over the Bruins in the conference race.
Bruins Stay Strong Through Second Half of Season
Following the Lipscomb match, Belmont looked to get back on track and stay in control of its own fate in terms of final standings. The Bruins responded by winning at North Florida and Jacksonville, before stumbling in an epic five set match against FGCU, the only meeting between the two teams. The match went to five sets, with set four going all the way to 30-28, before Belmont prevailed to force the deciding set. The Bruins and Eagles exchanged leads in set five before FGCU closed the match at 16-18 and took the win. The loss dropped Belmont into a tie for second place with FGCU, with the Eagles holding an edge in the head-to-head matchup and both teams trailing Lipscomb, now two games ahead and still undefeated. The Bruins responded to the FGCU loss by sweeping Stetson the following day before heading into a rematch with Lipscomb in the Curb Event Center.
Battle of the Boulevard, Part II : Bruins Get Help from Eight Man
Lipscomb entered the match having won 44 straight conference matches over the past the three and half seasons, which included back-to-back A-Sun Championships, while the Bruins came in having lost two of their last four matches and looking to create separation from FGCU as the number two team in the conference. The Lady Bisons held a two match lead over both Belmont and FGCU and were in the driver's seat to win their third regular season title. Unlike the previous meeting, the second installment of the rivalry was more about bragging rights and school pride than conference implications. In the spirit of school pride, Pembroke Hall, the volleyball team's rowdy cheer section, upped the ante for the rivalry game with a pregame "War" dance reminiscent of the routine carried out by the Univeristy of Hawaii football team prior to game. The dance set the tone for the Bruins, who came bursting out of the gate with the very first serve and took set one, 25-15. Lipscomb recovered to take an extended second set, 27-29, before Belmont responded with a 25-16 win in set three and a narrow 25-23 win in set four to take the match, 3-1. The win snapped Lipscomb's conference win streak, as well as breaking a streak of seven straight losses for the Bruins at the hands of the Lady Bisons' and was the first win since Belmont upset Lipscomb in the 2008 conference final. More importantly, the win brought the Bruins a game closer to Lipscomb, gave them a one game lead over FGCU, and set Belmont up to assert some control over its own fate heading down the stretch of the conference season.
Belmont Wins Out to Clinch Top Seed
The final three matches of the season were against Kennesaw State in the home finale, followed by a final road trip to USC Upstate and ETSU to close out the season. The Bruins finished the conference schedule with a 5-1 record at home and a 6-1 record on the road, as well as being a perfect 6-0 away from Nashville. The Kennesaw State and ETSU matches were expected to be difficult challenges for the Bruins, but Belmont won both in straight sets to close out the 2011 conference season winning nine straight sets. By the final match of the season, the Bruins had what every coach prefers: a chance to play for and win a conference title without needing a lot of help from other conference teams. Belmont did just that with a sweep of ETSU. The win was the 20th of the season for the Bruins, their first 20-win season since 2008.
Season Culminates in Postseason Honors
It was not surprising after the inspiring run the Bruins enjoyed in 2011 that players on the team would receive postseason recognition. However, the extent of the honors won by Belmont Volleyball was impressive, as the Bruins swept almost every major postseason award and placed five players on All-Conference teams, including three on the All-Conference first team. The number matched a new high, set last season, and was the most of any conference team. Belmont picked up Player of the Year, Scholar Athlete of the Year, Libero of the Year and Coach of the Year honors. When reduced to simple statistics, the honors aren't nearly as surprising, with Belmont players leading several individual categories. Senior Maggie Johnson, the Co-Player of the Year, led the league in kills and points, while sophomore Jamie Lundstrom, the Libero of the Year, led the conference in digs. Sophomore Hannah Miranda, the Bruins' third First Team selection, led the conference in assists. All three led their respective categories from the first week of the season until the final week of play. Sophomore Jen Myer, named to the second team, leads the nation and the Atlantic Sun in service aces per set and freshman Scarlet Gable, named to the All-Freshman team, finished second in that category amongst conference freshman and played in each of Belmont's 103 sets this season. Head Coach Deane Webb picked up his third Coach of the Year award, while Johnson was also named a member of the Academic All-Conference team and the Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Maggie Johnson: One of the Best...Ever
Johnson led Belmont and the conference in kills throughout the 2011 season and started the year being voted the Preseason Player of the Year by conference coaches. She was within shouting distance of several school and conference marks and expectations were high for the senior from Naperville, Ill. At the end of the regular season, she has moved into third in school history in career kills and needs just 22 more to become the second all-time in kills in A-Sun history. Her 2011 season ranks second on the single season kills list (486) and first in attacks (1,332). Appropriately on Senior Day, Johnson set a new school record for career attacks (4,338). She was named the conference Player of the Week three times, named to three All-Tournament teams, including picking up MVP honors at the Kangaroo Klassic after posting 21 kills to lead the Bruins to a comeback win over UT-Martin to claim the invitational championship. In addition to her offensive numbers, Johnson also posted career highs in digs (337) and total blocks (41) during her senior campaign. She set new Curb Event Center records in attacks in a match (82 vs. FGCU) and in a four set match (68 vs. Sacramento State). Beyond her contributions on the court, Johnson was Academic-All Conference three times, voted to the inaugural Academic All-Conference Team, and named the 2011 Scholar Athlete of the Year. She currently boasts a 3.42 GPA in Exercise Science. Whether her storied career at Belmont comes to an end this weekend or weeks from now, Johnson will go down as one of the best players in Belmont history.
Belmont Enters Tournament with High Expectations
As the 2011 season Co-Champion, it is hard to dub Belmont as the "favorite" to win the 2011 tournament, although the Bruins are expected to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2008. Belmont will face the winner of the No. 4 Kennesaw State vs. No. 5 ETSU match in the semifinals. The Bruins were in that same 1 vs. Winner of 4/5 semifinal a season ago where they fell to Lipscomb in straight sets. Last season, Belmont limped into the postseason with a roster full of injuries, while the Bruins have played only four matches over the past three weeks, giving the team time to rest and heal. With the bye into the tournament semifinals, Belmont will have an extra day of rest before hopefully continuing its usual two games in a weekend scehdule. The role of favorite is a new one for a young Bruin team that boasts only three seniors, with five sophomores and five freshman. Belmont will look to Johnson, the team's most active senior and the only player with prior championship experience, to lead the way. Johnson was a member of the 2008 Championship team, the last Belmont team to advance to the conference finals.
Friday's semifinal match will be broadcast on ASun.TV free of charge. Video links, live stat links and all schedule information are available at belmontbruins.com.
Match Notes
