~~lADIES to ~tournament The 2003 Lady Bison volleyball campaign will be remembered among the best in the history of the program. Five returning starters from the 2002 team, along with three freshmen, helped win the school's first Gulf South Conference championship in "team-play" and compiled a 30-8 record overall for the season. The Lady Bisons opened the season with a seven-match winning streak. However, as the team prepared to' open the conference schedule, it lost six of its last nine non-conference matches. Despite the losses, the Lady Bisons never lost their confidence and compiled an 11-1 record in ronference play and clinched the GSC West Division. The Lady Bisons went undefeated in home conference matches. Because of the team's Western Division championship, it was able to host the GSC Tournament with the home-court advantage in the Rhodes Field House. In tournament play, the Lady Bisons escaped the universities of West Florida and Montevallo in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. This set up a rematch between Harding and the University of North Alabama in the championship match. UNA beat the Lady Bisons twice in non-conference matches in the regular season and won seven straight conference championships. In the championship match, the Lady Bisons had one of thei.r strongest defensive performances of the season and shocked a frustrated UNA team by winning the conference championship 3-l. "It's a David vs. Goliath story," head coach Keith Giboney said. "[UNA] had won seven years ina row. We set our sights on beating them and we knew we could do it." In winning the championship, the Lady Bisons clinched a berth to play in the NCAA Division II National Tournament where they faced UNA once again. The Lady Bisons were unable to regain the defensive stronghold possessed in the conference tournament and fell to the Lady Lions in three straight games. Despite a first-round loss, four-year starters Shaila Farley and Veronica Piech viewed the season as a success and winning the conference championship as their crowning achievement. "This is by far my best volleyball moment," Farley said. "We love to play. We love this team." - Matt Price volleyball II 253
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