The Belmont Abbey women's volleyball team, seeded eighth, lost to the host and top-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates by a 3-2 score tonight in the first round of the NCAA Southeast Regionals. Set scores were 25-18, 18-25, 25-22, 8-25 and 11-15. Armstrong advances to the second round as it improves to 33-5, while the Crusaders end the best season in school history with a mark of 26-5.

Belmont Abbey made its first NCAA Tournament appearance after capturing the first Conference Carolinas Championship in school history on November 17, defeating Queens on the road by a 3-0 score. Queens won both of the regular season matchups by 3-2 scores.

Crusaders freshman Hannah Schellenberg led the Crusader offense with 11 kills, the only Abbey player to reach double figures. Angela Jubb added nine and Lydia Schellenberg posted six with a team-high nine digs. Hannah Schellenberg added eight digs and Jubb posted seven.

In her final collegiate match, Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, Tournament MVP and honorable mention all-region honoree Kay Schellenberg handed out 21 assists as she wraps up her career with a school-record 3,151, including a single-season mark of 1,132 this season.

At the net, the Abbey posted 11 total blocks as Tori Jensen totaled eight, seven assisted and one solo. Caitlin Hankins added five block assists.

This was a record-breaking year for the Crusaders, as Belmont Abbey had never advanced past the quarterfinal stage of the Conference Carolinas Tournament prior to this year. The team posted school records in overall wins (26), conference wins (14) winning streak (9), all-conference honorees (5) and all-region honorees (Kay Schellenberg).

In addition, head coach Mary DeJute was the first coach in program history to be named Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year. Kay Schellenberg was the second player in school history to be named Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, and younger sister Hannah Schellenberg was the second player in school history to earn Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year honors. It was the first, and only, time that the three Schellenberg sisters played on the same team at any level of play.

The senior class of Kay Schellenberg (aspiring elementary school teacher), Angela Jubb (a three-time all-conference selection who will enter the coaching ranks), Remick Tiller (will graduate next month and enter graduate school), Morgan Kirby (a future sports marketer) and Julianne Pisano (a future event planner) won 68 matches in their careers, which is more than double of any other senior class in school history.