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By Jim O'Hara

ROME, Ga. – Jon Moseley knew that all the pieces to the puzzle were there when the season began and that it would be a matter of time to put it all together – and patience.

That time arrived more than a month ago and after having seen the Shorter volleyball team he coaches reel off a remarkable 12 straight wins, Moseley has no reason to doubt that the Lady Hawks are on the same optimistic page when they return to Kissimmee, Fla., over the next three days to compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association national tournament and complete the puzzle by winning a national championship.

"We struggled a bit early and played up and down because of all the new faces we had. But they came together and have been playing well for the past month," said Moseley, who guides the 23-9 Lady Hawks into the national tourney where the team advanced to the championship match last year only to fall one win short of winning the title.

"We expected them to get better as the season went along, once the setters and the hitters got on the same page," the coach said. "We just kept telling them that it takes time to mesh and I was pleased with their perseverance.

"We've become the consummate team. We depend of everybody to do their job and lately they've been doing just that."

Mosley and the Lady Hawks, however, completely understand that there's still a lot of work to do as Shorter will first have to face four foes in pool play that are just as determined to advance to Saturday's semifinal and title matches.

Entering the national tourney as the No. 4 seed, the Lady Hawks open up with a pair of tests on Thursday when they take on No. 8-seeded Southern Nazarene, like Shorter a provisional NCAA Division II program that is 25-10, at 10 a.m., then is back on the court at 2 p.m. to take on NAIA foe and No. 5 Campbellsville (28-9.)

On Friday, Shorter concludes pool play with two more rugged showdowns against Division II squads, squaring off against No. 9 Oakland City University from Indiana (17-7) DII at noon and then take on the tourney's top-seeded team, Point Loma (Calif.) Nazarene (24-7) at 4 p.m.

The other pool includes teams Shorter is all too familiar with, including Gulf South Conference rival Lee, the event's No. 2 seed despite finishing third behind the Lady Hawks in the GSC standings, and the team that stopped Shorter in last year's NCCAA title match, McMurry, which claimed the crown despite being the 10^th and lowest seed a year ago and this year is seeded No. 7.

The top two teams coming out of the two pools advance to Saturday's semifinals at 10 a.m. and noon, with the NCCAA championship at slated to start at 3 p.m.

"They have a good feeling about the tournament, especially after what they did last year," Moseley said about the Lady Hawks' mind-set heading into the season-ending tourney. "But first of all, we have to be ready for our four matches (in pool play) and then hope we're still playing on Saturday."

The Lady Hawks earned another shot at the national title sweeping to the NCCAA South Region championship by playing as a complete team, as seven players earned All-Region honors.

Senior libero Tanequa Whitman of Huntsville, Ala., was named the NCCAA South Region Player of the Year and was joined as First Team All-Region picks by junior outside hitter Jasmine Crook of Ohatchee, Ala., and freshman outside hitter Elizabeth Dowd of Dothan, Ala.

Claiming Second Team All-Region honors were senior right-side hitter Kelsey Kirk of Dalton, junior middle blocker Anna Graham of Rainesville, Ala., sophomore setter Dena Pierce of Huntsville, Ala., and junior middle blocker Erica Baker of Hazel Green, Ala.

Not surprisingly, all of them have had a hand in putting Shorter in position to contend for the NCCAA national title.

Whitman has emerged as the cornerstone for the Lady Hawks, recording a team-high 557 digs, while Crook – she was an NCCAA All-Tournament team pick and second team NCCAA All-American last year – leads Shorter with 378 kills.

Graham and Baker have combined to form a deadly duo at the net where they have turned in respective 90.5 and 85.5 blocks this season, while Pierce and freshman setter Cheyenne Frady of Elijay have emerged as a potent pair providing the Lady Hawks with 722 and 605 assists, respectively.

"Both are doing a real good job running the offense," Moseley said of Pierce and Frady, who opened the year charged with filling the setter hole left by the graduation of Jordan Corder, who set the team's season and career assists record. "They have a lot of responsibility and it's a tough position to play, but they have both improved during the season.

"Our strength all year has been our passing and defense," Moseley said, "and we'll continue to do what we do best – we want to control the ball."

All of the NCCAA 2013 Volleyball Championship contests will be available, at a nominal fee per match or via a full event pass, via Tourbeau Sports.