A-Sun tourney losses end season
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ISSUE: 11/29/07 > Sports > A-Sun tourney losses end season
Before the Belmont men’s soccer and women’s volleyball teams could hang up their jerseys until next season, both had one final invitation to compete in – the Atlantic Sun tournaments in their respective sports.
But as the final whistles, hometown rival Lipscomb ousted both teams. The men fell in a 1-0 quarterfinal contest, ending the season with a 7-10-2 record. The women, top-seeded in their tournament, lost after four sets to fourth seeded Lipscomb and finished the season at 21-8.
Before heading to DeLand, Fla., for the tournament, men’s soccer midfielder Navarda Heath said, “I am starting to see this year’s season unfold, but we all as a team and individuals have came a long way this year, and I know next year will be even better.”
Heath said, “I just want us all to play well and play hard regardless of the outcome,” and that’s what they did for the entire season. Men’s has come a long way this year, ironically beginning the season with a 0-0 draw with Lipscomb, which was also their final challenge of 2007-08.
Many of Belmont’s players have been spotlighted for their outstanding efforts this season.
Senior Jay Ayres was named the A-Sun defensive player of the year for the second year in a row. He was also named to the All-Atlantic Sun first team for the second consecutive year. Senior Ian Schinelli was named to the All-Atlantic Sun second team and freshman T.J. Brown was also named to the All-Freshman team.
After the Belmont volleyball team won the regular season final at Cambell, they looked forward to the top seeding.
“Taking home that victory was amazing,” junior Emily Cahill said after the Campbell victory. “There wasn’t a second of the game where we were scared, we all kept our composure and played true Belmont women’s volleyball and we pulled out the win.”
But it was Lipscomb that ultimately claimed the victory in the hard-fought tournament semifinal in which the Bruins, hitting .198 for the match, put 69 kills and 75 digs on their tally sheet. Junior Cat Mundy tied an A-Sun Conference Tournament record with 31 kills.
The women, too, earned honors for the season, with four of the volleyball team’s student-athletes named to the All-Conference teams. Senior Colleen Nilson and Mundy were named first-team All-Atlantic Sun and senior Jaye Schuler and Cahill were named to the second team.
The much-heralded Nilson leads the conference in assists per game (12.36) and ranks second in aces per game (0.61). Nilson’s place on the conference first team came for the fourth straight year.
