KINGSPORT, Tenn. - Top-seeded Union College showed why it was the league's top team all season long as it defeated No. 2 seed Bryan (Tenn.) College 3-1 Thursday to win the 2009 Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.

"I am so proud of our team," said Union coach Whitney Elam. "We showed great mental toughness today, and we played as a team. No one player won this for us; it was a real team effort and I could not be happier for the ladies."

The tournament title is the first-ever in Lady Bulldog program history.

"We had tremendous support here at the tournament," Elam added. "The parents were great as they have been all season. We had a number of people come down from Union to cheer us on. And what a great surprise to have our men's soccer team show up and cheer us on before they play for a conference title."

The Union men's soccer team will play in the AAC Men's Soccer Tournament Friday. The Bulldogs will face Bryan (Tenn.) College in the semifinal round at 4 p.m.

Junior Amanda Silva (Londrina, Brazil) was named the Tournament MVP and had 26 digs in the title match. Monica Moreland (Louisville, Ky.) and Meg Donnelly (Middletown, Ohio) also made the All-Tournament Team. Moreland registered 43 assists and nine digs inn the match, while Donnelly had 11 kills.

Bryan took the opening set 25-19, but Union regrouped and took the next three by the scores of 25-17, 25-13, 25-15.

"We showed a lot of character. After dropping the first set, the ladies stepped up their game and took care of business," Elam said.

Bryan jumped out to an early 7-3 lead, but Union rallied to tie the score at 7-7. However, the Lady Lions responded with a 7-0 run to open up a 14-7 lead en route to a 25-19 decision.

The Lady Bulldogs fell behind 2-0 early in the second set but bounced back to grab a 9-4 advantage. Union steadily padded its lead, eventually building an 18-10 lead as it took the set 25-17.

In the third set, Union managed to build an 8-4 lead. The teams swapped points as Bryan trailed 14-10 before Union reeled off eight-straight points for a 22-10 cushion. The Lady Lions tried to battle back, but the Lady Bulldogs took the set by a count of 25-13.

Bryan grabbed a 2-0 lead to start the fourth set, but Union reeled off six consecutive points for a 6-2 lead. From that point, Union never looked back.

The Lady Lions pulled within 8-6, but the Lady Bulldogs scored 10 of the next 12 points for an 18-10 lead. Brooke Vinovich (Somerset, Ky.) punctuated the rally with a kill that put Union up eight.

Sensing the championship was now in reach, the Lady Bulldogs marched forward and captured the 25-15 decision for the match and the championship.

Vinovich and Maddie Peterson (Soda Springs, Idaho) each finished with a team-high 12 kills, and Autumn Combs (Florence, Ky.) helped out with nine kills and three total blocks.

Union is now 29-5 overall and advances to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. The pairings will be announced soon.

Bryan ends the season with a 26-14 overall record.

Lady Bulldog Notes

• The 29 wins are the second most in program history. Union won 34 in 2007, when it last won the AAC regular-season championship.
• The NAIA National Tournament berth is the first in program history.
• In just her second season, Whitney Elam is 54-16 as the Lady Bulldog coach for a .771 winning percentage.