Francis Marion Captures Program’s First Conference Carolinas Women’s Volleyball Tournament Championship
Bracket | Tournament Homepage
BRISTOL, Tenn. – For the third consecutive season, the Conference Carolinas Women’s Volleyball Championship match went five sets, however, this time Francis Marion bucked the trend and held on to capture the tournament crown in their first year as a member of the conference. The previous two seasons, the team who held a 2-0 lead in the championship match lost in five. This time the Patriots held on for the 3-2 victory.
The first set went the way of the Patriots as the Florence, South Carolina program never trailed in a 25-17 win. FMU hit an impressive .344 (16-5-32) in the opening set while the Crusaders hit .143 (10-5-35). Gracie Davis led Francis Marion with a match-high six kills in the set while hitting .500 (6-2-8).
North Greenville raced out to a fast start in the second set as they took the first three points and 5-of-7, but the Patriots rattled off the next seven points and never trailed again in a 25-21 win. Francis Marion tallied four blocks in the set to a pair for North Greenville and FMU was led offensively by Kayla Arthur who tallied six kills on 10 attacks.
It was the Crusaders' turn to never trail in a set as they captured set three 25-20. Erin Allen and Abigail Durham put down back-to-back kills to begin the set as the Crusaders tallied 16 kills and a trio of aces in the win. Allen led the offense with five kills in the set.
In the spring, North Greenville took a 2-0 lead over King in the championship match only to watch the host Tornado capture the title. They hoped to turn the tables this season as they forced a fifth set with a 25-18 win in set four. The Crusaders never trailed as they evened the match and hit .323 (14-4-31) in the set. Paige Beisecker led the charge at the net as she tallied five kills on six attempts and had the only block in the set.
As expected, the fifth set was a back-and-forth battle as both teams worked to grind out their first Conference Carolinas tournament title. The set featured four ties at 2, 4, 5 and 6, but Francis Marion used a 6-1 run to take a 12-7 lead and never looked back in a 15-10 win.
Francis Marion receives the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women’s Volleyball Championship. The DII women's volleyball selection show will air Monday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET at NCAA.com.
After the match, the conference recognized the seven-member all-tournament team headlined by tournament MVP Iyanla Thigpen. The full team is listed below.
Fans can rewatch every game of the tournament via the Conference Carolinas Digital Network and BlueFrame at conferencecarolinasdn.com. Information regarding the championship and bracket is available
here.
2021 Conference Carolinas Fall Women’s Volleyball Championship
First Round – Saturday, November 13
East #4 Belmont Abbey def. East #5 Barton, 3-2 (Box Score)
West #4 Erskine def. West #5 Lees-McRae, 3-0 (Box Score)
Second Round – Saturday, November 13
East #3 Mount Olive def. East #4 Belmont Abbey, 3-2 (Box Score)
West #4 Erskine def. West #3 King, 3-2 (Box Score)
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, November 16
West #2 Emmanuel def. East #3 Mount Olive, 3-0 (Box Score)
East #2 UNC Pembroke def. West #4 Erskine, 3-0 (Box Score)
Semifinals – Friday, November 19 (King University – Bristol, Tenn.)
East #1 Francis Marion def. West #2 Emmanuel, 3-2 (Box Score)
West #1 North Greenville def. East #2 UNC Pembroke, 3-0 (Box Score)
Final – Saturday, November 20 (King University – Bristol, Tenn.)
East #1 Francis Marion def. West #1 North Greenville, 3-2 (Box Score)
All-Tournament Team
Iyanla Thigpen, Francis Marion - MVP
Gracie Davis, Francis Marion
Kaylee Gillespie, Francis Marion
Paige Beisecker, North Greenville
Kasie Thomas, North Greenville
Victoria Alexander, Emmanuel
Brianna Warren, UNC Pembroke