Fort Myers, Fla. - When the 2014 Atlantic Sun Volleyball Season began this fall, several new head coaches embarked on their first journey in the conference. For two of them the journey has led to the A-Sun Championship, while Northern Kentucky also makes its first appearance at this year's championship.
NKU head coach Liz Hart has guided the team to two winning seasons since joining the A-Sun, and this year the Norse were rewarded with a spot in the A-Sun Championship. Unfortunately Coach Hart is not able to join her squad in Fort Myers, Fla as she is expecting to deliver a baby any day now. Assistant Coach Randi Raff guided the Norse to their first A-Sun Championship victory on Thursday. The team now prepares for a showdown with perennial league power Lipscomb in the Semifinals today.
Defending Champions Jacksonville are back in the championship with a new head coach in Julie Darty. A former player in the A-Sun, Darty took over the squad and has led them to the No. 3 seed in this year's Championship. The Dolphins will try to become the fifth team in A-Sun history to win back-to-back titles, first since Lipscomb did it in 2010-11. They took down cross-town rivals North Florida in the first round on Thursday. Now the Dolphins face a tough test against the A-Sun Championship hosts FGCU.
The Eagles also feature a new head coach in Matt Botsford, who guided them to the No. 2 seed in his first year in the A-Sun. He coached a total of five All-Conference selections this season after taking over a squad with several seniors and upper classmen. The Eagles have bought into their new coaches philosophy and went 19-10 overall, including 11-3 in conference play. Being the two-seed represents the second highest seed for FGCU in the A-Sun Championship, they were No. 1 back in the 2012 Championship.
The A-Sun Championship Semifinals begin today at 5 p.m. All of this year's Volleyball Championship can be seen live on ESPN3. The winners will advance to tomorrow's Championship Final which is set for 3 p.m. also live on ESPN3.
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