Monday, September 26, 2005

Belmont Bruins

The Belmont Bruins (10-9) finished their pre-conference tournament schedule with a double-header at the IPFW Tournament, and had a 1-2 mark for the week. The win came against Austin Peay, and it was the first time in twelve tries that the Bruins defeated them. Sara Jacobson and Katie Tobiasz were the bright spots for the team this week,combining for 29 kills and 8.0 blocks against Austin Peay. The two also represented Belmont on the All-Tournament team over the weekend. The Bruins host Tennessee-Martin on Tuesday before opening A-Sun play this weekend, when they will host Mercer and Stetson.

Campbell Camels

The Fighting Camels ended a four-match losing streak with a 3-1 victory over Gardner-Webb on Saturday. Dating back to last season the Camels had lost eight-of-nine Atlantic Sun matches until Saturday's victory. Tabitha Turner continues to be Campbell's most consistent offensive attack with double-figure kills in 12-of-16 matches on the season. The Camels have a busy upcoming week of non-conference action. Conference USA member East Carolina comes to town on Tuesday and the Camels travel to NCAA D-II Fayetteville State on Thursday for a match against Barton College and FSU.

East Tennesee State Bucaneers

The Lady Bucs went 2-0 last week, including a 3-0 sweep over in-state rival Chattanooga, and a 3-1 victory over Campbell in the Lady Bucs' first-ever Atlantic Sun contest. ETSU begins this week with a match against King College on Monday, before returning to the A-Sun schedule as the Lady Bucs host Gardner-Webb on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Gardner-Webb Bulldogs

Gardner-Webb suffered losses to Davidson and Campbell on the week. The 'Dogs fought back from a 2-0 deficit at Davidson to tie the match at 2-2 and held a 13-12 lead in the fifth set before falling 15-13. GWU then opened conference play on Saturday with a four-set loss to the Fighting Camels. Carrie Brinkley tossed up 42 assists in that 3-1 loss to become GWU's all-time leader in assists at the Division I level with 2,012. Audra Harrison also set a GWU single-match record with 27 digs. Gardner-Webb (8-12, 0-1 A-Sun) will host UNC Asheville on Tuesday before traveling to Johnson City for a road conference match with ETSU.

Jacksonville Dolphins

Eva Stoilova has recorded double figures in kills in six of the last seven matches. The Dolphins have rattled four of their last five matches after opening the year 1-9. The Dolphins scored 14 straight points in game three against Stetson on Saturday. JU recorded its two best single-match hitting performances against Stetson, hitting .326 in the FIU Invitational and following it up with a .330 percentage on Saturday. The Dolphins blocking has improved over the last two weeks, recording double figure blocks in four of the last six matches.

Lipscomb Bisons

Libero Ann Mullins played in four matches (14 games) last week, recording 79 digs. Lindsey Rutherford also played in 14 games, making 56 kills. She posted a double-double with 16 kills and 14 digs against Eastern Kentucky in a three-game match. Freshman Jessica Turner posted her first collegiate career double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs in a three-game match with UNC-Asheville. The Lady Bisons play their first Atlantic Sun game of the season Saturday night when Stetson visits Allen Arena.

Mercer Bears

Mercer (3-11) split its two matches during the week. Defeating Savannah State on Wednesday, 3-0. Then falling to conference rival Florida Atlantic (13-0) in three games on Saturday. Kellie Violette had another outstanding week for the Bears, recording 20 kills and hitting .472 in the two matches. The Bears take on Alabama State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the University Center before jumping back into A-Sun play this weekend. The Bears will play at Belmont on Friday at 7:30 p.m. central time and then at Lipscomb on Saturday at 5 p.m. central time.

UNF Ospreys

The UNF volleyball team won its fourth consecutive match on Friday when it opened Atlantic Sun Conference play at Stetson, winning 3-0. The victory marked UNF’s 61st consecutive win in conference play, dating back to 2000 when UNF was a member of the Peach Belt Conference. Senior Kelly Kazmierczak led UNF in kills with 13 against the Hatters, her third time in the last four matches to lead the squad in kills. She is hitting .250 with a team-high 56 kills during that four-match stretch. UNF returns home on Tuesday to face Bethune-Cookman before traveling to play Jacksonville in the first conference meeting between the city rivals on Thursday.

Stetson Hatters

Stetson began conference play this past weekend with losses to UNF and JU. The Hatters will look to get in the A-Sun win column this weekend with matches on Friday at Lipscomb and on Saturday at Belmont. It will be the second straight year the Hatters have traveled to Nashville, Tenn. DeeAnn Dempsey ranks second in the A-Sun with a 3.92 kills/game average. Melissa Muller leads the A-Sun with a 0.59 aces/game average. Liz Gorski ranks ninth in the A-Sun with a 3.54 digs/game average. Dempsey has moved past Miki Ford into seventh place among Stetson’s all-time kills leaders.