Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont (18-8, 9-2 A-Sun) defeated Kennesaw State (12-15, 7-5 A-Sun) in straight sets on Senior Day in the Curb Event Center. The match marked the final home appearance for three Bruin seniors: Lexi Adams (Plainwell, Mich.), Channing Salava (Clearwater, Fla.) and Maggie Johnson (Naperville, Ill.). Belmont improved to 7-4 at home and 18-8 overall. The Bruins are currently ranked second in the Atlantic Sun conference standings with only two matches left in the regular season.
Belmont held its Senior Day ceremony prior to the match, and the Bruins managed to withstand the emotions of the day to knock off Kennesaw State in three sets, making the seniors' final match a victory, winning 25-18, 25-16 and 29-27.
"I think with regards to today, one of the things we talked about in the locker room today is that we were glad that we were playing a good opponent on Senior Day because it would require us to focus on our opponent and the match at hand," Head Coach Deane Webb said. "Sometimes, when you play a lesser opponent on Senior Day, there's the tendency that it could be a trap game because you're focused more on the day than you are on playing well. I was just glad to get the win. I told our team before the match that the best way to honor our seniors is to play hard and get a win and we did that. It got a little touchy at the end, but, regardless, we found a way to get the win in three and we're glad we were able to do that for our seniors."
The Bruins were paced by Johnson, who led the team with 18 kills. Johnson has been Belmont's most consistent offensive threat, but has also provided the Bruins with solid all-around play in every match, in addition to being a leader on the court for the young Bruins. With her 38 attacks today, Johnson moved into first place in career attacks and has already set multiple single-season marks for Belmont this season.
"I think today is representative of Maggie in that she hit for a good percentage, obviously, she gets a lot of swings, but she did everything for us," Webb said of his senior star. "She was second on the team in digs; she tied for second on our team in blocks…she just does so many things. She made a lot of hustle plays around the court and she does some many things well that don't always show up on the stat line. She's just a well-rounded volleyball player. Her experience and her volleyball IQ mean so much to our program."
Belmont enjoyed offensive balance, with four other Bruins finishing with five or more kills. Sophomore Jen Myer turned in seven kills while junior Amy Van Buren (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) added six. Van Buren led the team with a .545 hitting percentage and currently ranks second in the conference in that category. A transfer into the program this fall, Van Buren has come on strong for the Bruins offensively during the second half of the season.
"I think that's true, Amy is definitely coming on in the second half of the season," Webb said. "What's important is that we make sure we use her. That's something that (setter) Hannah (Miranda) and I have talked about is to recognize that Amy is, really in the second half of the season, developing and we want to make sure that we understand that and that we reward that improvement with her getting more swings in matches. I think today was a great example. In the first two games she got a total of four swings in the last game she got seven and that's where we just have to recognize that as we mature and become a more balanced team, we become a better team."
The Bruins were led defensively by libero Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.), who finished with 11 digs. Belmont finished with eight team blocks, with three different players recording at least three blocks, while sophomore setter Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.) led the team with four blocks and 40 set assists.
Belmont will close out the regular season on the road, as the Bruins take on ETSU and USC Upstate next weekend. The following week will find the Bruins in their final Atlantic Sun Tournament, as Belmont has already clinched a tournament bid. The 2011 A-Sun Tournament will be held in Nashville, hosted by Lipscomb in Allen Arena, on Nov. 17-19th. Webb and his team aren't looking too far ahead, though, with two tough matches still to play in the conference season.
"Right now our focus is on (USC) Upstate," Webb said. "They're a team that's been a little up and down, but on the days that they're playing well, they can compete with a majority of the teams in our conference. There are teams that are in the top half our conference that they're getting games off of every time they play, so we know that we're going to need to play well, particularly at their place. Then of course, ETSU, that's a good team and a team that's been successful the last few years and we know that we'll need to play well to earn the win there. They have a number of outstanding players. Megan Devine, obviously, is a dynamic outside attacker and someone that we'll prepare for and we're looking forward to the last weekend of the regular season."
