NCAA SOUTH REGION VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT INFO

By Jim O'Hara
 
ROME, Ga. – The eight previous teams he coached at Shorter University were careful about setting goals, opting to instead to simply improve on a daily basis as the season progressed.

This year's Lady Hawks volleyball team, the ninth for head coach Jon Moseley, had a different mindset from the very beginning of the 2014 campaign – reach the NCAA National Tournament.

Mission accomplished.

On Thursday, the Lady Hawks will have the honor of being the first Shorter team to play on the NCAA's national stage when they take the court at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Fla., in a first-round NCAA Division II South Region match.

"We're really proud of our team," Moseley said about the Lady Hawks, who in their first season competing as a full NCAA and Gulf South Conference member won the conference's regular-season title. "We usually have no goals during the season but instead just focus on getting better every day.

"But this year," he pointed out, "we wanted to reach the NCAA tournament and we felt we had the talent to do that. I'm so proud that they've reach that goal."

The Lady Hawks, one of 64 teams selected to be in the tourney, take a 21-5 record and a No. 7-seed to the 8-team regional and face an immediate test when they take on No. 14 nationally-ranked and No. 2 seed Florida Southern at 2:30 p.m.

Shorter is one of three GSC teams at the regional, which included the nation's No. 1 team, host Tampa. Also playing is conference champion and No. 4 seed Valdosta State and No. 6 seed West Florida.

Even more of a challenge for the Lady Hawks is the fact that they will be playing without one of their teammates who played a major role in putting the team in position to advance to the NCAA playoffs.

Missing from the lineup will be senior standout Jasmine Crook, an All-GSC First Team selection this year that was lost for the postseason when she suffered a season-ending injury during Shorter's conference tourney semifinal loss against North Alabama in a fifth-set tiebreaker.

Crook is Shorter's all-time leader in kills, coming up with a team-high 257 this season heading into the conference tournament. The Ohatchee, Ala., native also recorded 277 digs and 39 blocks in her final season for the Lady Hawks.

"She's the most gifted athlete we've ever had," Moseley, who was this year's GSC Coach of the Year, said about Crook. "She's a special player and when you lose someone like that, it's hard to overcome. Things aren't going to be the same without her."

Despite, however, the absence of Crook, Shorter will still put a solid squad on the floor looking its three other All-GSC selections, its experience and its talented group of young players to hold their own.

Senior Erica Baker and sophomore Elizabeth Dowd each earned First Team All-GSC honors, while Anna Graham claimed Second Team recognition.

Baker, a senior from Hazel Green, Ala. was a force for the Lady Hawks on the front row; posting 217 kills on the season to go along with 64 blocks – 13 solo and 51 assisted; Dowd, a sophomore from Dothan, Ala. posted 229 kills for Shorter; while also recording 348 digs on the season; and Graham, along with Baker, anchored the Lady Hawks' front row; tallying 218 kills and 64 blocks – 13 solo and 51 assisted

"It's been an outstanding year and a special year," Moseley said, "one we'll always remember."