Oct. 25, 2008

Final Stats

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont defeated Jacksonville in three sets on Saturday afternoon to sweep the weekend series and maintain their perfect home conference record.

"It was a good win," Head Coach Deane Webb said. "We were aggressive all through the match. Defensively, we were very active; that and attacking from the back row successfully was a big part of getting to where we wanted to be. Across the board, we did some nice things defensively. The energy of the team from start to finish was great. The intensity was great - there were a number of hustle-plays that energized the team and kept us going."

Belmont (16-7, 10-4 A-Sun) was led by outside hitters Maggie Johnson and Kayla Albritton who both paced the team in kills and hitting percentage. Johnson led the team with 13 kills on a .407 hitting percentage. Albritton led the team with a .444 hitting percentage along with 11 kills.

The Bruin defense was led by Jenny Gray's seven blocks and Cat Mundy's 14 digs in a match that saw two sets go into extra points. Belmont held the Jacksonville (13-8, 8-5) to 33 kills on a .165 hitting percentage.

As a team, the Bruins hit for a .305 percentage, recorded 48 kills, and ten blocks. It is the seventh match this season in which Belmont has recorded an attacking percentage higher than .300, while the 48 kills marks a team match-high for 3-set matches this season.

Although the match was won in three sets, there were times when the Dolphins tested the mettle this young Belmont squad.

In set two the Bruins were down 9-11, when Belmont went on a six-two run to take a 15-12 lead that led to a 26-24 victory. Likewise, in set three, the Bruins owned a 10-14 deficit but went on a four-one run to tie the score at 15. From that point on the set went back-and-fourth, eventually seeing the Bruins win in extra points.

The Bruins will hope to capitalize on their momentum from the weekend as they host Lipscomb on Tuesday night at the Curb. Belmont leads the series 23-3 overall but Lipscomb will come in with the upper hand as they have won the last two matches and hold a 12-2 conference record this season.

"We expect (Lipscomb) to play with a lot of heart - to be very good defensively," Coach Webb said. "They have a middle that is probably the best middle in the conference in Alex Kelly, an outstanding setter, and just a good all-around team. We know that we need to play them really well and we will look forward to having a chance to play them at home."

The 27th meeting between the schools will take place at 6:30 Tuesday night at the Curb Event Center.