CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Lesley University women's volleyball team has earned the fifth seed in the 2013 New England Collegiate Conference Championship Tournament and will travel to fourth-seeded Daniel Webster College in a First Round match tonight at 7:00p. The two teams both ended the regular season with matching 5-3 records in conference play, but the Eagles victory over the Lynx earlier in the season granted them the tiebreaker.
New England Collegiate Conference First Round
No. 5 Lesley University (9-16, 5-3 NECC) @ Daniel Webster College (10-12, 5-3 NECC)
7:00p - Tuesday, October, 29th
Mario Vagge Gymnasium – Daniel Webster College
Winner advances to play top-seeded Southern Vermont College (10-8, 7-1 NECC)
Scouting the Eagles
The Eagles snapped a two-game losing skid by taking both ends of a tri-match with Becker College and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Art this past Saturday.
Freshman Samantha Betts is second in the NECC with 3.21 kills per set and 4.0 points per set while her .214 hitting-percentage was good enough for fourth in the league. Her 245 kills and 294 digs leads the Eagles while classmate Madeline Roulier is second on the team with 219 kills. Senior Ally Haden dished out a team-high 510 assists.
Scouting the Lynx
Lesley enters the tournament dropping three in a row. After dropping a tough five-setter to UMass-Dartmouth in a non-conference action, Lesley dropped tight 3-0 matches to NECC foes, Regis College and Southern Vermont.
Senior Katrina Stroganoff paces the Lynx offense with 217 kills while freshman Vanessa Smith follows up with 118. Sophomore Danielle McDonald has a team-high 288 digs while junior Danielle Johnson has dished out a team-high 502 assists.
Previous Matchup
The Eagles edged the Lynx in a tight 3-0 (27-25, 25-11, 25-22) matchup in Nashua on October 1st to open up NECC play. DWC rookie Samantha Betts tallied match-highs of 10 kills and 17 digs, and classmate Madeline Roulier added nine kills and nine digs. Ally Hayden added 21 assists and Maggie Belli notched 16 digs.
Katrina Stroganoff paced the Lesley attack with nine kills while Danielle McDonald added five and Anthea Rathjens tallied four. Danielle Johnson handed out 16 assists and pulled in 13 digs while Jessie Reynolds added 15 digs.
The teams dueled throughout a back-and-forth opening set that saw 16 ties and seven lead changes with Roulier and Stroganoff leading their respective teams with four kills apiece. The Eagles held on despite hitting a miserable -.051 sand staved off deficits of 23-22 and set point at 25-24.
DWC took control in the second, racing to leads of 6-0, 10-1, and 17-3 on the way to the 25-11 victory. Betts heated up to knock down six kills on 10 attempts and the Eagles helped hold Lesley to just five kills in the set.
The teams were more even in the third as Rathjens had four kills and Stroganoff three to keep things close while Roulier added four for DWC. The set was tied as late as 19 all after a Betts attacking error, but the Eagles were aided by two quick Lynx errors and a Betts ace for a 22-19 lead. A Stroganoff kill closed the gap to 22-21 but another Roulier kill pushed it to match point and Sarah Durocher closed it out at 24-22 with her only kill of the night.
2013 NECC Women's Volleyball Championship Bracket
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
#6 Mitchell at #3 Newbury - 7:00PM
#5 Lesley at #4 Daniel Webster - 7:00 PM
Friday, November 1, 2013 (at Southern Vermont)
Winner #5/#4 vs. #1 Southern Vermont
Winner #6/#3 vs. #2 Regis - 40 minutes after the conclusion of first semifinal
Saturday, November 2, 2013 (at Southern Vermont)
Championship Game