Liberty Volleyball Begins Postseason Play With Battle Against FGCU Nov. 18

With a decent end to the season, the Lady Flames volleyball team qualified for the ASUN Tournament, where they will face an uphill battle against tournament favorites Florida Gulf Coast.

This season for the Lady Flames has been a stepping stone for what could be a dominant team in the upcoming years. Of the 18 women on the team’s roster, six of them are freshman. After a disappointing spring season, this season has been a major improvement. The team went from 5-9 (.357) to 10-13 (.435) this fall. 

This season, the team showed multiple signs of growth, along with a showcase from the team’s seniors. The skill of the underclassmen proved to be vital for success this season. First and second in kills were sophomores Trinity Watts and Lydia Burts, with Watts ending the season as the team leader with 205 kills. 

With freshmen and sophomores leading the team in kills as well as blocks and digs, the team is in good hands for the next three seasons. The major indicator of the team’s future going forward will be how it adapts to the upcoming ASUN Championship. 

Liberty begins the tournament against FGCU, who is tied for the top-ranked seed with Jacksonville State. The Lady Flames have lost both of their matches with FGCU this season and failed to win a set against the Eagles.

In the first match Oct. 10, Liberty failed to score more than 14 points in any of the three sets. In the second, the Lady Flames were limited to under 11 points in the first two sets, but the third set was much more promising as Liberty was able to put up 20 points on the Eagles.  

The winner of the contest will face either No. 2 Lipscomb or No. 3 North Florida. Liberty has played each team once this season, getting swept in its match against North Florida and losing 2-3 in its loss to Lipscomb. 

The first round of the ASUN Championship begins Nov 18. in Fort Myers, Florida, at 7 p.m.

Palsgrove is a sports reporter. Follow him on Twitter.