JACKSON, Miss. - The Belhaven University volleyball team will begin their 2017 season in Phoenix, Ariz. on Friday Sept. 1 and Saturday Sept. 2 at Arizona Christian University as a part of the Arizona Christian Tournament.
The Blazers will play two matches on Friday and two on Saturday. The Green and Gold face Arizona Christian at 7 p.m. on Friday evening, followed by a 9 p.m. match against Benedictine College.
On Saturday, Belhaven will matchup with Embry-Riddle University and University of Antelope Valley at noon and 2 p.m.
Last season, the Blazers tallied an overall record of 13-17, with a 3-11 record inside the American Southwest Conference. Belhaven won their final three matches of 2016, including five of their last seven matches.
The Blazers also played in two scrimmage matches against West Alabama and Mississippi College over the past week. After the match against UWA, head coach Justin Dee discussed his initial thoughts on this year's team. "For only three days of practice and playing a very class program, I walked out of the gym really excited about the season ahead. We need to continue to work on our serving and receiving, but we played great."
Belhaven will look to seniors Kelly Aholt, Allie Perkins, and Blaykleigh Smythe to provide leadership and on-court play as well. The Senior trio contributed in many ways last season. Both Aholt and Smith are Arizona natives.
Aholt led the Blazers in assists with 873 and also notched 155 digs. Perkins produced 106 digs on the year and Smith led the Blazers with a team-high 263 kills and 61 total blocks in 2016.
Junior Lauren Whiting and sophomore Hope Tourney also bring experience to the table after a solid 2016 season. Whiting was third on the team in kills with 191 and also collected 133 digs while Tourney 165 kills and was second on the team with 50 blocks.
Belhaven will see several new faces on the court this year with five new freshman along with a transfer from Cisco Junior College in Ryan Hardin.
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