HOME OF BULLDOG WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL - 2009 SCIAC Champs, 2006 NCAA Regional Finalists

During the 2009 campaign, the University of Redlands volleyball team attained many firsts for the program, including the first opportunity in school history to host the NCAA West Region Championship in Currier Gymnasium. The Bulldogs gained that chance by capturing their first-ever Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Volleyball Championship, followed by winning the inaugural SCIAC Postseason Tournament. In addition to these accomplishments, the Maroon and Gray boasted the best record in program history at 23-6, left its mark on the Bulldog record book, and garnered a plethora of awards, including Head Coach Mari Burningham as the 2009 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) West Region Coach of the Year.

The season began with two consecutive losses at the opening Cal-Lu-Fornia Tournament but that was the only time in 2009 that Redlands would falter in back-to-back matches. Instead, the Bulldogs busted out three streaks of five or more wins.

After defeating Trinity University (TX), which was ranked No. 16 at the time, the Maroon and Gray rattled off four straight wins by earning the sweep in all of them. This stint included a solid performance against regional rival Chapman University in which the Bulldogs took advantage of numerous Panther errors en route to the 25-20, 25-16, 28-26 victory.

Redlands opened the SCIAC season with a difficult loss to then-No. 25 Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, falling in four sets to the Regals. Nonetheless, this momentary setback inspired eight straight victories during the heart of conference competition, which was highlighted by a school record-tying performance by junior outside hitter Jackie Hamilton (Loma Linda, CA) on Sept. 26 when she put away 27 kills to tie Redlands’ single-match record. Beyond this feat, senior setter Kelina Smith (Kurtistown, HI) dished out a season-high 61 assists. Their combined efforts helped propel the team to an important five-set win on the road against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges.

In addition, the Bulldogs downed last season’s national runner-up, the University of La Verne, and avenged their earlier season loss to Cal Lutheran, during this span.

On Oct. 6, Redlands pushed past a talented La Verne squad in five competitive sets, 25-21, 21-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-11. Senior Lauren Harding (Altadena, CA) contributed 47 digs that night, keeping the Bulldogs in the long, defensive rallies. Junior middle blocker Meghan Phillips (Vista, CA) also posted a match-high hitting percentage of .406 with 15 kills.

Three nights later, the Bulldogs prevailed over visiting Cal Lutheran in a hard-fought sweep, 25-19, 25-23, 25-23. The team looked to Hamilton to lead the way with 14 kills at a .333 clip while also supplying a match-leading 23 digs and four block assists.

Following an uncharacteristic five-set loss to Chapman in which the Bulldogs tallied an incredible 17.5 blocks, Redlands took care of business with non-conference victories over UC Santa Cruz and Wisconsin Lutheran College before returning to SCIAC action.

Amidst a six-match win streak, the team needed five sets to defeat Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at Breast Cancer Awareness Night on Oct. 30, but Hamilton pounded the Athenas with her second-highest career output of 26 kills.

Redlands then rattled off five more SCIAC wins to eventually clinch the inaugural championship with a 3-0 sweep at Whittier College. The Maroon and Gray handily defeated the Poets and made history in the process, giving Bulldog Athletics at least one title in all 19 conference-sponsored sports (the future exception being women’s lacrosse, which begins SCIAC competition in 2010).

Although Redlands struggled against La Verne in its final conference match, the Maroon and Gray quickly regained its momentum as the host of the first-ever SCIAC Postseason Tournament. On the heels of senior outside hitter Ali Massei’s career-high 18 kills, the Bulldogs enjoyed a 3-1 thrashing of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges to move them onto the tournament final, which would determine the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

Following La Verne’s four-set win over Cal Lutheran in the other semifinal, the Bulldogs and Leopards faced off for the inaugural SCIAC Postseason Tournament championship. This time, Redlands prevailed in fine fashion, with sophomore back-up setter Allison Light (WIldomar, CA) stepping in for Smith, who was sidelined with the flu. Despite the critical change in the lineup, the Maroon and Gray produced a well-rounded offense with four players in double-digit kills as Light collected a career-high 46 assists.

With the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship in hand, Redlands waited for the big announcement as to where it would play in the opening round. Due to a variety of events, the Bulldogs surprisingly gained the opportunity to host the west regional tournament with SCIAC foes La Verne and Cal Lutheran, along with nearby opponent Chapman University, making the field of seven teams. Redlands also welcomed top-seeded Colorado College, Pacific Lutheran University (WA) and the University of Puget Sound (WA) to the three-day event.

In their first-round match, the Bulldogs absolutely demolished Chapman, sweeping them by scores of 25-16, 25-8, 25-12. The team rocked the Panther defense with a .304 hitting percentage, making just eight errors in the match. In addition, Redlands put up 12 blocks against a frustrated Chapman offense.

Playing in the regional semifinal, the Maroon and Gray took on a very familiar La Verne squad, squaring off for the fourth time this season. Despite the home crowd advantage, Redlands started off slow and quickly faced a two-set deficit against an offensively-talented and defensively-relentless opponent. With their backs against the wall, however, the Bulldogs rallied back and eventually tied the score at two sets all, forcing a fifth set. But this time La Verne came up with the big plays down the stretch, earning the 15-12 victory and a spot in the regional final while bringing Redlands’ historic run to an end.

As a result of this exciting ride, the Bulldogs gained numerous awards and accomplishments. Hamilton headlines the team with her Second-Team AVCA All-America honor. This was just the third time in program history that a Redlands player gained this award, following Rachaé Bell’s back-to-back accolades in 2005 and 2006.

In addition, Hamilton, Phillips and Harding all landed on the AVCA All-Region First Team. The same three players joined Smith on the All-SCIAC teams, gaining the most all-conference nods in the history of the program. Finally, Hamilton and Smith garnered College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District accolades for their success in the classroom and on the court.

Beyond the awards, the Bulldogs left their mark on various statistical records and rankings, with Harding finishing fourth in all of Division III in digs per set at 6.94. She also tallied the second-most digs in a season at Redlands with 760, which places her second all-time with 1,760 career digs. Finally, Harding came in second with 101 career service aces, sitting just one behind the record-holder.

Hamilton now owns the school record for kills in a season with 395, which moves her up to third with 860 career kills and one more season to play. She is also fourth all-time at Redlands with 791 career digs.

As a junior, Phillips already lands fifth all-time for career blocks with 207. She is also seventh with 658 career kills.

In terms of single-season marks, Massei registered 50 service aces, which places her second. Smith distributed the second-most assists in a season with 920.

On the heels of a record-setting season, the 2009 Bulldog volleyball team will be one for the ages. Under the tutelage of Burningham, Redlands looks forward to building upon its momentum from this year well into the future. Although the squad must fill the shoes left by Harding, Smith, Massei, and senior right side Katy Douglass (Roseville, CA), the Maroon and Gray boast a solid foundation of returning players who show promise and desire to continue this season’s trend of success in the coming years.