October 30, 2007

    

 

     Dayton, TN--The Lady Lions volleyball team bounced back from a discouraging loss on Saturday to top AAC and NAIA Region XII #1 Union College 3-0 (30-22, 31-29, 30-17) in their final regular season match at Bryan College Tuesday night.  The Lions, denied a chance for the outright conference championship after the loss, still came out on fire to take control early in the match.  The Lions grabbed the early lead in game one and never relinquished it.  Game two was controlled by the Lions until a late surge brought the visiting Bulldogs even at 29-29, but a Robin Renfroe put-away and tough serve ended the game 31-29.  Hannah Suits did most of the damage in game three, building a 13-point cushion off 3 service aces and 7 service points. 

     The Lions were led by MB Renfroe, who tallied 13 kills (.524 pct), 4 blocks and 2 aces.  Gabrielle Claxton had another big hitting night, finishing with a game-high 14 kills (.462 pct). Suitswas strong as well, finishing with 5 total aces, 18 service points, 17 assists and 3 kills. 

     The Lions, now 15-3 in conference (19-11 overall) are currently tied for second in the AAC with King College.  They must await the outcome of Union and King’s final two matches to see what seed they will receive for the conference tournament.  “We did what we had to do tonight,” commented Bryan’s head coach Leo Sayles.  “The team played together, endured a run by Union in game two, and stayed focused to the finish.  There is still an outside chance for the regular season championship if we get a little help from someone else, but we can still rest easy knowing that we improved upon last season’s record.  I am proud of the girls and the work they put in this season, and look forward to seeing what we can accomplish in the post-season.”

     The Lions will rest the remainder of this week, then travel to Birmingham, AL next Tuesday for a match-up with Birmingham-Southern College.  The Lions will enter the conference tournament Nov. 9-10 with no lower than a #3 seed.