MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- With a 3-0 win at Faulkner on Fri. the Berry women's volleyball team sealed the first out-right regular season Southern States Athletic Conference title in school history. The win in the final regular season match gives Berry a 21-11 record for the year and a 15-1 record in the SSAC. The Lady Eagles are an even .500 at 16-16 for the year and 8-8 in conference.

Berry held on to win a tight first set 26-24. Then cruised to victory in the final two sets 25-18 and 25-19 respectively.

"I am really proud of our team finishing the regular season on a strong note," said Berry head coach Mika Robinson. "It is a really solid Faulkner team that we beat tonight."

Senior right-side hitter Grace Brannon had 17 kills in the match to lead a Berry team that finished with a .268 team hitting-percentage. Claire Scott also had nine kills in the mach to go with her 11 digs. Brannon and Scott both had two service aces in the match.

Shawn Carroll led the Lady Vikings with 16 digs in the match. Ashley Weider led the team with 20 assists and Erin Godwin had 13 assists in the match. Meghan Francis led the Berry block with a pair of solo blocks and a block assist.

The Berry defense limited Faulkner to just 30 kills as a team in the match, with no player reaching double-digit kills. Kari Wiggins had 15 digs and Holly Hutcheson had 11 digs. Shaleen Knight had 13 assists in the defeat.

The win also marks the first time in five seasons that a team other than Lee has been the regular season conference champion. Berry and Lee joined the SSAC from the TranSouth in the 2004 season and the Lady Flames had swept the last four SSAC regular season titles.

As the top team in the SSAC during the regular season Berry is guaranteed of the No. 1-seed heading into the SSAC Volleyball Tournament, which  starts Wed., Nov. 12. The Tournament, which goes from Nov. 12-15 is hosted on the Berry campus at the Steven J. Cage Athletic and Recreation Center.

"We start a new season on Wednesday," said Robinson. "We are excited to make the most of it."

A complete tournament bracket will be available at the SSAC Home Page <http://www.ssacsports.com/> as soon as the final conference regular season matches conclude.