Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont (1-0) opened the 2012 season sweeping Alabama A&M (0-1) in the second match of the fifth annual Belmont Invitational, 25-22, 25-18, 27-25. The Bruins turned in 41 kills as a team and held Alabama A&M to a .167 hitting percentage.
The Bruins were greeted to a large crowd for their opening game, with over 400 fans in the Curb Event Center.
"The crowd was great as we've grown accustomed to in the last couple of years," said head coach Deane Webb.
Alabama A&M jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but Belmont answered tying the score before the Bulldogs scored two unanswered points.
Belmont battled back to take its first lead of the set with an attack from junior Allison McCoy (Huntington Beach, Calif.), but a service error tied the set at 15. The Bruins capitalized on two consecutive attack errors to take a two-point lead that the team would not relinquish their lead to close out the opening set, 25-22.
A block from freshman Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) and McCoy started a 3-0 run for the Bruins. Behind kills from redshirt freshman Maddison Croft (Edwardsville, Ill.) and sophomores Alex Martin (Ooltewah, Tenn.) and Scarlet Gable (Munford, Tenn.), Belmont took a 9-4 lead over the Bulldogs. Belmont went on a short 3-0 run before Alabama A&M scored four unanswered points.
A 3-0 run from the Bruins capped by another block from Youngdahl and McCoy closed out the second set, 25-18, giving Belmont a 2-0 advantage at the break.
Alabama A&M came back from the break going on a 3-0 run but their run was ended by a kill from Gable. The Bulldogs bounced back to score four consecutive points but kills from McCoy and Croft ended their run and brought Belmont within five.
The two teams battled back and forth, with each going on short runs. Two errors from the Bulldogs allowed Belmont to pull within one point, 20-19. Back-to-back kills from Gable gave the Bruins a 21-20 lead. The two teams exchanged points before Belmont closed out the set with a 27-25 win.
"I think we started out a little slowly, maybe a little tense out there," said Webb. "Which is kind of what you would expect with four players in their first college match, but as the match went out we got a little more comfortable. There was a little bit of a let up in game three, but we did a nice job coming from a deficit to get the win in three."
Martin led the Bruins with 13 kills, followed by Gable with 10. Freshman Regan Kennamer (Huntsville, Ala.) recorded a game-high 39 assists, while junior Jamie Lundstrom (La Grange, Ill.) paced the defense 22 digs.
The Bruins will start the action tomorrow with a 10:00 a.m. game against Northern Colorado in the Curb Event Center.
