Brenau Volleyball Wins Two In Conference Play
In a weekend doubleheader, the Brenau Golden Tigers volleyball team defeated the Belhaven University Blazers 3-0 and the Loyola University Wolf Pack 3-1 to stay undefeated in Southern States Athletic Conference play.
In the opening match, the Golden Tigers swept the Blazers in three sets by scores of 28-26, 25-21 and 25-22. Leading the charge was junior Rachel Adam (Athens, GA) who had 10 kills in 14 attempts and senior Ellen Lemos (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) who had 12 kills. Pam Konken (Stockbridge, GA) chipped in 7 kills, while Marcella Toups (Morris, IL) added 6 kills.
Setter Bailey Hicks (Buford, GA) had 31 assists in the match to lead the Golden Tigers to victory.
Defensively, Konken and Lindsey Kelly (Cumming, GA) controlled the back of the court with 10 and 15 digs respectively. At the net, Adam contributed 10 blocks, while Devony Hemingway (Salemburg, NC) added 2 blocks.
Coach Jeff White discussed his team's performance against the Blazers, saying, "Our team played really well tonight and battled throughout the match. Winning the first set 28-26 set the tone for the match and fueled the team with confidence. I am proud of our effort at this point of the season and it is so nice to see the hard work pay off with a solid win against a good Belhaven team".
In the second match of the weekend, the Golden Tigers defeated the Wolf Pack 25-16, 16-25, 25-22, 25-19 in four sets.
Several players contributed to Brenau's balanced offensive attack against Loyola. Marcella Toups (12 kills) led the offense in hitting, while Lemos (11 kills), Adam (10 kills) and Konken (9 kills) each played an integral role in scoring. Konken also added 2 service aces on the day.
On the defensive side, Ellen Lemos lead the team with 16 digs, while Konken (11 digs), Kelly (10 digs), and Toups (8 digs) helped control the Wolf Pack offense. Devony Hemingway dominated at the net with 6 blocks, while Lemos and Adam added 3 and 2 blocks respectively.
"The victory against Loyola was a huge win for our program. We have never started out 3-0 in conference and to beat a tough Loyola team to earn that status is a positive step forward for Brenau Volleyball", said Coach Jeff White of his team. "We are trying to infuse our new players with the veterans and it has been a learning process. I am very happy with our progress".
The weekend sweep puts the Golden Tigers atop the SSAC standings with a 3-0 conference record and overall record of 4-3.
The team travels to McKenzie, TN on Tuesday for a conference match against Bethel University. Match time is at 8:00 pm eastern time (7:00 central).