Lady Flames Finish as Outright ASUN Regular Season Champs with Sweep at Bellarmine

ASUN Volleyball Championship Bracket

Liberty posted a dominant performance at Bellarmine on Sunday at Knights Hall, sweeping the Knights (25-21, 25-17, 25-7) on the way to its 10th straight win to close out the regular-season schedule.

Liberty (21-7, 14-2) has earned the No. 1 seed for next week’s 2022 ASUN Volleyball Championship, hosted by Lipscomb at Allen Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The Lady Flames will open play on Thursday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time against No. 8 seed Stetson. The winner of that match competes in the second semifinal, Friday at 8 p.m. ET, and the final is at 8 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. The winner of the ASUN Volleyball Championship earns the conference’s automatic berth to the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship.

Meanwhile, Bellarmine sees its season end at 10-18, 4-12 in ASUN play with its sixth straight loss.

Notable Numbers

• Liberty outhit Bellarmine .364-.033 for the match, also leading in kills (42-23), aces (7-3), digs (40-28) and blocks (11-1).

• Kate Phillips scored 10 kills and added three solo blocks. Delaney Dilfer posted a double-double with 30 assists, and 10 digs, while Erica Lowery collected a match-high 11 digs. Lydia Burts hit .750 with nine kills while also adding three aces. Kamryn Bacus sent down nine kills, while Madison Blane totaled eight kills (.667) and a match-high six blocks.

• Bailey Venard paced Bellarmine with six kills, while Emily Arnold dished out 17 assists and Emily Ernst served up three aces.

Turning Point

• Bellarmine and Liberty fought down to the wire in set one, with Ernst’s ace drawing the Knights to within 23-21 before the Lady Flames scored the final two points.

• Set two went back and forth before Liberty took command with a set-ending 12-7 run to win 25-17.

Quick Hits

• Liberty is now 4-1 all-time against Bellarmine, winning the last four meetings in a row including both this season. The Lady Flames edged the Knights 3-2 on Oct. 7 in Louisville.

• The Lady Flames have earned their 10th conference regular season title all-time and first since claiming the 2012 Big South regular season championship.

• Dilfer’s 1,180 assists this season are the most by a Liberty player since Jade Craycraft totaled 1,284 assists during the 2010 season. Dilfer’s 15 double-doubles this year are the most by a Lady Flame since Karyl Bacon posted 16 double-doubles in 2010.

• Liberty’s 25-7 win in set three was its largest margin of victory in a single set since beating NJIT 25-6 in set two on Oct. 26, 2018.

• Liberty’s 11 .300 matches this season are the team’s most since hitting .300 or better 11 times during the 2007 season.

• Liberty carries a 10-match winning streak into the ASUN Tournament. It is the team’s longest winning streak to end a regular season since the Lady Flames won 13 matches in a row heading into the 2007 Big South Volleyball Championship.

• The Lady Flames, at 14-2 in ASUN play, tied their program record most conference wins in a single season, also going a program-record 14-2 in Big South play during the 2010 season.

• Liberty’s current 10-match winning streak is its longest under current Head Coach Trevor Johnson and longest since winning 13 in a row, Sept. 20 through Oct. 25, 2014.

Up Next

The No. 1 seed Liberty Lady Flames open the 2022 ASUN Volleyball Championship against the eighth-seeded Stetson Hatters next Thursday, Nov. 17, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time at Allen Arena in Nashville, Tenn.