Lady Barons' record-setting year ends with numerous All-GACC honors

Brewton-Parker College's most successful volleyball season ended Friday in the Georgia-Alabama-Carolina Conference postseason tournament, but not until the Lady Barons picked up several individual postseason honors and one more win to add to the school record they have been increasing since Oct. 12.

The Lady Barons finished fourth in the five-team GACC tournament at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Ala., with a 1-2 record, completing the program's most successful season with a 31-12 mark.

Brewton-Parker was relegated to the losers' bracket after taking a 3-0 loss to Georgia Southwestern State University, which defeated Brewton-Parker in the teams' two regular-season matches.

However, the Lady Barons then completed a season sweep of their own by scoring a 3-1 victory over Brenau University, defeating the Golden Tigers for the third time and eliminating Brenau from the five-team tournament.

That win pitted Brewton-Parker against Faulkner immediately afterward in a battle of teams that split their conference matches, with the home team winning each time.

Faulkner repeated its earlier win over the Lady Barons, eliminating BPC with a 3-0 sweep.

"We came down and didn't play the kind of volleyball it takes to win the tournament," Lady Barons coach Jason Bryant said Friday night. "By the third match, we just didn't have the legs to finish it. But it was a great season."

The teams that defeated the Lady Barons ended up in the championship round after Georgia Southwestern defeated top-seeded Southern Wesleyan University (S.C.) Saturday morning and Faulkner eliminated the favored Lady Warriors.

Georgia Southwestern outlasted Faulkner 3-2 to win the GACC title.

While at the conference tournament, three Lady Barons received All-Conference player honors and five selections to the GACC's All-Academic Team - including one that received one honor of each.

Sophomore Melissa Brown, who was named NAIA Player of the Week during the week of Oct. 6-12, earned All-Conference honors and is one of two GACC All-Academic Team members with a 4.0 grade point average.

Brown, a 5-foot-10 middle hitter from Kelowna, British Columbia, was the conference's Freshman of the Year in 2001.

Junior setter Jeni Paul, a 5-9 native of Woodstock, is a repeat selection to the All-GACC squad. Paul was named GACC and NAIA Region XIII Setter of the week for Oct. 6-12.

K.C. Cheshire, a 6-0 sophomore from Marietta, also made the All-Conference list. Cheshire, an outside/middle hitter, was the GACC's Player of the week for Sept. 22-28.

The Lady Barons had the Freshman of the Year for the third straight season with the selection of Chrissy Murphy for that honor. Murphy is a 5-10 outside hitter from Savannah.

The other four Lady Barons on the All-Academic Team include a pair of repeat selections in Jaime Murrant and Alissa Vogt.

Murrant, a 5-9 junior outside/middle hitter from Kelowna, British Columbia, has a 3.50 GPA.
Vogt, a 5-6 senior outside hitter also from Kelowna, British Columbia, carries a 3.92 GPA.

Amanda San U, a 5-8 sophomore defensive specialist from Watkinsville, has a 3.81 GPA. Christin Walsh, a 5-5 sophomore outside/middle hitter from Bluntstown, Fla., has a 3.43 GPA.

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