Though the Lady Toppers’ season ended in disappointing fashion, Head Coach Travis Hudson said he’s confident in the future of his program.

“We aren’t going anywhere,” Hudson said. “We will be right back here next year.”

The Lady Toppers (25-9, 13-4 Sun Belt Conference) lost to eventual Sun Belt Tournament champion Middle Tennessee State in four sets (21-25, 25-23, 15-25, 24-26) in their semifinal match on Friday.

“We put it all out there but just couldn’t close it out,” sophomore middle hitter Tiffany Elmore said. “It was sad to see the seniors go out like that.”

Freshman outside hitter Jordyn Skinner said the team hoped to defeat the Blue Raiders in part because of the all-Sun Belt team selections.

MTSU had four players on the first and second teams while Elmore, a second-team selection, was the only Western player honored.

“Everyone had it in the back of their head,” Skinner said. “We wanted to prove we could do it.”

Hudson said that, even though the team only had one player on the all-Sun Belt teams, the “scrubs can still play.”

Skinner and senior outside hitter Abbie Siljendahl played most of the match with injuries. Skinner hit her head in the second set and Siljendahl rolled her ankle in the third.

“The kids persevered the whole game and continued to battle,” Hudson said. “I’m extremely proud of them for that.”

Even though the Lady Toppers advanced to the tournament semifinals, Hudson said hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament are slim because the Sun Belt will likely send both MTSU and Florida International to the tournament.

FIU’s loss to MTSU in the Sun Belt championship match was its first conference loss all season.

Though the end result didn’t turn out how the Lady Toppers would have liked, Skinner said she’s excited for next season.

“Things didn’t go our way in the tournament, but next year is a new year,” Skinner said.

Western will return four starters but also graduates four players: Siljendahl, middle hitter Brittany Bowen, defensive specialist Lindsey Gould and outside hitter Aquila Orr.

But with four highly-touted freshman coming in for the 2010 season, Hudson said he isn’t concerned with the loss of talent.

“We definitely have one of the best freshman classes coming in,” Hudson said. “I’m excited to see how they mesh with what we have now.”

Hudson said despite the outcome of the Lady Toppers’ match against MTSU, this season’s team was still championship-worthy.

“This team was just remarkable from start to finish,” Hudson said.