Jackson, MS-The Belhaven volleyball team took the valuable experience they gained in 2008 and translated it into a solid 2009 campaign. The Blazers made big strides as they continue to build the program. Belhaven doubled their wins this past season and finished the year with an 18-20 overall record. The Blazers finished tied for third with Dillard University at 5-5 in the always tough Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and made it to the GCAC Tournament semifinals.

The season started with wins over Talladega College and Rust College in the Belhaven Tri-Match during the opening weekend of the year. The Blazers next four matches came in the Millsaps College Invitational with contest against Union University (TN), Millsaps, Rhodes College, and Piedmont College. The Blazers fought hard, but their only win of the tournament came in a 3-2 victory of Rhodes.

Despite the challenges, Belhaven responded with three straight wins beginning with NCAA Division I Alcorn State University. The Blazers followed their win over Alcorn with a 3-1 decision over Huntingdon College and a three set sweep of Central Baptist College in the Hendrix College “Not Quite Fall Classic”. Belhaven played two more matches in the Hendrix tournament losing to Williams Baptist College, but earned a win over the host school in route to a 3-1 tournament record and improved their overall mark to 7-4 on the season.

Belhaven then hit a tough stretch of matches winning only two of their next eight contests. The Blazers recorded a victory in their match with Mary-Hardin Baylor at the Texas Wesleyan Tournament and tallied an important decision with a three set sweep of Southern University at New Orleans in GCAC play. Belhaven's other opponents in the Texas Wesleyan Tournament included Texas Wesleyan, Oklahoma Baptist (at the time was #24 in Nation), John Brown University, (RV early on- Aug 18), and College of the Ozarks (Receiving votes in the NAIA Poll at the time).

Belhaven nearly stole a win on the road at Loyola University during that stretch of eight matches as they fought back from a 0-2 deficit to tie the match at 2-2. Unfortunately the Wolfpack prevailed, however the Blazers found out they could play with one of the top teams in the GCAC and it instilled confidence in the team heading into the second half of the season.

Following the win over SUNO, the Blazers fell to Mobile before posting a victory over Texas Southern University in the Jackson State Tri-Match. Five straight losses ensued until Belhaven broke the streak with a 3-0 win over the host school Faulkner University at the Faulkner Invitational. It proved to be the turning point in the season and started a five match winning streak which included GCAC wins over Spring Hill College, SUNO, and Belhaven's first win over Loyola since 2006. The win streak came to a close with a loss to Dillard and following the match the Blazers stood at 15-16 overall and 4-4 in the GCAC.

Belhaven concluded the regular season with four straight home matches with the Blazers coming away with wins in two of them. Belhaven defeated cross town rival Millsaps and upended Spring Hill in a GCAC contest to finish the 2009 regular season schedule at 17-18 heading into the conference tournament. The Blazers couldn't get past Loyola in their first pool play match, but stayed alive in the tournament with their third win of the season over SUNO. However, in the semifinals top seeded University of Mobile was too much for Belhaven as the 2009 campaign came to a close.

Christina Jaques and Christina Atwood were both selected to the GCAC All-Conference Team after outstanding individual seasons. Jaques, a junior outside hitter from Orange, TX, led the team in kills with 381 and total blocks with 92. Jaques averaged 2.74 kills per set during the season and posted a hitting percentage of 20.9. Jaques ranked fourth in the GCAC in kills per set, third in the league in total kills and led the GCAC in total blocks.

Atwood, a sophomore middle blocker from Vancleave, MS, was second on the team in kills and blocks with 299 and 88 respectively. Atwood was tops on the team in hitting percentage at 23.9 percent. Atwood was also fifth in the GCAC in total kills and ranked 10th in the conference in kills per set.

Setter Erin Bradley, who hails from Lubbock, TX, had a great freshman season by tallying 1,200 total assists with an 8.63 assist per set average. Bradley was also tops on the team with 38 serving aces and had a team high 360 digs. Newcomers Taylor Williams and Samantha O'Malley made strong contributions to the team in their freshman seasons as well. Sophomore Kourtney Clark also provided strong leadership for the Blazers who had no seniors and just one junior on the roster. Sophomore Erinn Hampton played well in the middle of the year, but battled injuries at the beginning and end of the season.

“We made terrific strides this season,” said Head Coach Lydia Smith. “The sophomore class started in almost all positions on the court last year (Fall 2008) and we were able to use that experience to lead our young team on the court this year. The incoming class was versatile and talented which were key components in the better outcome this season.”

“The progress was great in serve receive passing, serving consistency, hitting efficiency, and even digging,” added Smith. “We were low on athletes and high on injuries, but our team work and chemistry improved from last year and peaked near the end of the season. Even though we struggled at the conference tourney, we had an overall good season with the turnaround we made. I am also very proud of our individual accomplishments. We had seven total GCAC player/ hitter/ setter of the week honors all of which came from incoming players Erin Bradley, Taylor Williams, and Christina Jaques. Two of the players were selected for the GCAC tournament team as Christina Atwood and Christina Jaques were both honored by the conference. Kourtney Clark was selected for the Faulkner All Tournament Team while Jaques was selected for the Texas Wesleyan All Tournament Team.”

Belhaven will have a highly experienced team coming back next year which should equate to an exciting 2010 campaign.