Lady Flames volleyball sets sights on ASUN championship tournament

The Lady Flames women’s volleyball team is looking to continue its impressive season when the ASUN conference tournament begins Nov. 21-23 in Fort Myers, Florida. 

Ending the regular season with a winning record for the first time in the past two years, Liberty currently sits third in the ASUN standings with a 17-9 overall record and a 10-4 mark against ASUN opponents with three conference games left to play. Over the course of the season, the Lady Flames have recorded several eye-opening straight-set victories, including triumphs against ACC rival Virginia and the defending ASUN champions Florida Gulf Coast.

Head Coach Trevor Johnson said those victories give him confidence that Liberty will rise to the challenge once tough competition inevitably comes in the playoffs.

“We purposefully schedule tough teams before conference play, and playing those teams and having those wins has definitely helped our confidence,”
Johnson said. 

However, Johnson acknowledges that their success in the regular season will not automatically translate to the postseason.

“At this point, everyone is 0-0,” Johnson said. “Anything can happen. I’m excited to see what we are going to do in these last couple of matches.”

The Flames will prioritize fine-tuning small areas of their game over the few remaining weeks, such as defense and passing. Senior Casey Goodwin said that the team will also focus heavily on perfecting their serving before the tournament starts.

“Coach really stresses serving – he will have us serve 10 balls and he wants nine out of 10 in,” Goodwin said. “Those little points add up at the end of the game. Anything that is the basics, that’s what we are stressing in practice.”

This will be Goodwin’s final season for the Lady Flames, and she has played an integral role in the team’s success so far. She recorded 233 kills, the second-highest on the team this year, and she played in all 91 sets this season. Although she had a stellar regular season, Goodwin wants to ensure that her last tournament will be one to remember.

“I want to leave it all out there on the court,” Goodwin said. “This is my last time playing volleyball, with a great group of girls that I absolutely love. I’m excited to do our best, and I want to go out with a bang.”

Senior middle blocker Anna Gragg is also writing the final chapter of her volleyball career, and she wants to leave a lasting mark in her final year at the school. 

But the Lady Flames will meet stiff competition on their road to ASUN glory, with Florida Gulf Coast (25-4), Kennesaw State (18-8) and Lipscomb (13-12) threatening to dominate the postseason. Liberty has struggled with these three teams over their first two seasons in the ASUN. All six of the Lady Flames conference losses in the 2018 season and three of their conference losses this season came against FGCU, Kennesaw and Lipscomb.

Even with the tough opposition Liberty will face, Gragg relishes the challenge of spearheading the attack and looks forward to going to battle alongside her teammates.

“I think we are peaking at the right time,” Gragg said. “We are capable of winning our first ASUN conference tournament. I think this team can do big things when we put it all together.”

With their bid to the tournament already clinched, the Lady Flames remaining regular season matches will take place over the next 10 days. The Flames will travel to face North Florida and Stetson, with the senior night matchup against Kennesaw State set for 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, in the Vines Center.