Box Score LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Belmont (2-4) dropped another four set match, this time to South Dakota State (5-1) in the Kansas Invitational. The Bruins will face Appalachian State tomorrow in the final tournament match.
Belmont got 22 kills from senior Maggie Johnson, a new season high and only one away from a career high for her, but it wasn't enough, as the Bruins dropped two extended sets to the Jackrabbits before ultimately falling 1-3. Belmont's offense was consistent, but the Bruins struggled to maintain that consistency on defense.
"This was one of our overall more consistent offensive matches," Head Coach Deane Webb said. "Every game we hit over .200 and every game we hit under .270. That was nice to see, not being necessarily up and down. Defensively, we were obviously up and down. We allowed them to hit over .270 three times and once we held them under .040. That's too big of a swing. It's really a mental loss tonight, that's the bottom line. If it's a mental loss, that comes back to me as a coach. I've got to do a better job of having them prepare for a challenging situation. I think toward the end of the match we got a little tentative, we weren't aggressive, we didn't continue what got us there."
Defensively, Belmont put on another strong showing, recording 56 digs in the match and scoring eight team blocks, a new season high. Three Bruins had double-digit digs, led by sophomore libero Jamie Lundstrom who had 20 digs. Sophomore setter Hannah Miranda had 10 digs while sophomore Jen Myer had 13. Miranda also had 47 set assists and Myer added three service aces. Junior Amy Van Buren led Belmont with four blocks, while Myer and sophomore Allison McCoy each had three. McCoy also added a new season-best nine kills and a team high .562 hitting percentage. Myer proved to be the most solid Bruin overall, contributing across the board.
"This was one of our overall more consistent offensive matches," Webb said. "Every game we hit over .200 and every game we hit under .270. That was nice to see, not being necessarily up and down. Defensively, we were obviously up and down. We allowed them to hit over .270 three times and once we held them under .040. That's too big of a swing. It's really a mental loss tonight, that's the bottom line. If it's a mental loss, that comes back to me as a coach. I've got to do a better job of having them prepare for a challenging situation. I think toward the end of the match we got a little tentative, we weren't aggressive, we didn't continue what got us there."
Belmont will look to continue getting better as they face another tough test against Appalachian State tomorrow.
"This time of the year, it's about improvement," Webb said. "I think we improved today. We got better offensively in our second match. We got better as far as our defensive intensity in the first match. As long as we're doing that, as long as we're working hard, I'm going to be happy, regardless of what's going on. Tomorrow is a different team. They're a physical, attacking team that can do some things at the net, hit the ball with some pace. We will need to serve aggressively again to get them out of system. They're a good opponent. I respect them and what they've done. I've known that program for a long time from back when I coached in the SoCon years ago. I'm looking forward to that. It's all about improvement and as long as we're doing that, then I'm happy."
The Bruins will face Appalachian State for just the third time in school history. Both previous meetings have also come on a neutral court. The Mountaineers fell to South Dakota State in the first match of the invitational. First serve is set for 10 a.m. on Saturday. Live stats, full recaps, and updated statistics and box scores will be available at www.belmontbruins.com.
