Nov. 11, 2006- Laura Bellinger is an all-American for her setting abilities, but it was her serving on Saturday that helped North Alabama reach the Elite Eight. Bellinger sparked the Lions to a 30-21, 30-27, 31-29 sweep over Central Missouri in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional championship match.
Central Missouri led 17-14 in the opening game when North Alabama went on a 15-2 to take control of the match. Included in that were eight straight points with Bellinger serving.
In the second game, the Jennies again had the lead down the stretch at 22-20. After a sideout, a Bellinger ace tied the match. Those two points started a 9-3 spurt that gave the Lions the second game.
Keeping with the trend, Central Missouri led late in game three and even had two game points. However, four straight errors by the Jennies gave North Alabama the regional championship. The streak started with a service error and then the Lions tied the game on a block by Kasie Spencer and Danielle Palasak. An ace by Dee Ayres gave the Lions match point, and they won that after a Central Missouri attack error.
Bellinger finished the match with 48 assists and 10 digs, and she helped North Alabama hit .302 for the match. Megan Stout led the team with 16 kills, followed by Ayres with 13 and Nilcia Oliveira with 10. All three of those players hit .333 or better.
Defensively, the team was led by Spencer with seven blocks, and Oliveira and Ashley Hill with 19 digs.
Central Missouri was led by Jillian Ohrman with 14 kills and a .387 hitting percentage. Katie Tarka was also in double-figures with 13 kills. Caitlin Pankratz led the team with 40 assists, and Audrey Jensen had a team-high 17 digs.
North Alabama will take a 33-5 overall record into next week’s Elite Eight. Central Missouri sees its year end with a 29-7 mark.
South Central Regional All-Tournament Team
Katie Tarka, Central Missouri
Jillian Ohrman, Central Missouri
Megan Stout, North Alabama
Ashley Hill, North Alabama
Nilcia Oliveria, North Alabama
Laura Bellinger, North Alabama
Sammie Williams, Pittsburg State
Allie Cherven, Truman
Sarah Shearman, Truman
Tessa Jones, Washburn
Naira Fernandez, West Florida
Carly Moyers, West Florida
