Monday, October 17, 2005

Belmont Bruins

The Bruins defeated Memphis and Lipscomb this week to extend their winning streak to seven matches. Belmont had to come back from a 2-1 deficit to avenge an early-season loss to the Tigers. Sophomore Jaye Schuler led the attack, collecting 13 kills and 4.0 blocks in the win. Schuler collected 10.0 blocks for the week. On Thursday, the Bruins hosted cross-town rival Lipscomb, who also boasted a 4-0 conference record. Belmont heads to Samford on Tuesday before hosting FAU and ETSU in the final home stand of the season.

Campbell Camels

The Camels have dropped five in a row and their double-figure block streak was halted at seven matches after recording just 6.5 team blocks in a 3-0 loss at Florida Atlantic. Campbell welcomes Jacksonville and North Florida to Buies Creek this weekend as they try and get back on path over Homecoming Weekend.

East Tennesee State Bucaneers

ETSU started the week off blanking Western Carolina, 3-0, in Brooks Gym. The win was the team's eight-straight victory, and sixth-consecutive win at home. The Lady Bucs hit a pair of brick walls over the weekend, in UNF and Jacksonville. ETSU dropped a match to UNF on Friday, and fell to Jacksonville, on Saturday. Jennifer Sartor led the Bucs this week, with a team-high 41 kills in three games, averaging 4.10 kills per frame. The Lady Bucs host Radford on Tuesday and hit another roadtrip over the weekend, with matches at Lipscomb and Belmont.

Florida Atlantic Owls

FAU (20-2, 4-0 A-Sun) went 2-0 for the week with two 3-0 wins over Garnder-Webb and Campbell. The Owls have only dropped one game in their last four wins. Kelly Paiva averaged 7.17 kills per game and has posted over 25 kills in seven matches this season. With one win, FAU will tie its single season Division I win record set in 2004. Kelly Paiva needs just 33 kills to break the FAU single season record. This week will feature a battle of two unbeaten A-Sun teams when FAU travels to Belmont on Friday and then faces Lipscomb on Saturday.

Gardner-Webb Bulldogs

The Lady Bulldogs went 0-3 on the week, taking losses at Charlotte, Florida Atlantic and Stetson. Ashley Pridgeon and Audra Harrison continue to pace Gardner-Webb's offense as the duo have combined for 593 kills while Carrie Brinkley has ripped a team-leading 44 service aces. Harrison (407) and Katie Matykowski (342) have bolstered a GWU defense that is averaging 14.63 digs per game in 2005. Gardner-Webb will host Charleston Southern, North Florida and Jacksonville this week.

Jacksonville Dolphins

The Dolphins extended their Atlantic Sun Conference winning streak to 14 straight matches with a 3-1 win over ETSU. Katie Hendrian came off the bench to record a season-high 16 kills and 12 digs against USF on Sunday.

UNF Ospreys

The UNF volleyball team has won eight of its last 10 matches and knocked off two teams that were unbeaten in conference play heading into last week. The Lady Ospreys thumped cross-town rival Jacksonville, 3-0, in a non-conference meeting and then upended ETSU 3-0 on Friday night. The back-to-back home matches were the first for UNF since early September. After playing 12 of their first 17 matches away from home, the Lady Ospreys will close the year with eight of their last 12 at UNF Arena. Sophomore Amy Stroder continued her impressive work since returning to the team (knee injuries) on Sept. 17. She is hitting .251 this season and is averaging 3.17 kills per game, both of which are tops on the team among UNF’s outside hitters. The Lady Ospreys will play two of their final three conference road matches this weekend when they make the A-Sun Carolina swing, playing at Gardner-Webb on Friday and Campbell on Saturday.

Stetson Hatters

DeeAnn Dempsey moved into third all-time in school history with 1154 career kills. Stetson has two A-Sun matches remaining. A win over Mercer this Saturday could potentially give the Hatters their first A-Sun tournament berth since 1995. The Hatters are 5-1 this season when winning game one of a match.