CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – After receiving a First Round bye, the second-seeded Lesley University women's volleyball team will take on third-seeded Newbury College in New England Collegiate Conference Semifinal action on Friday at host Regis College. The top-seeded Pride will host No. 4 seed Daniel Webster College in the first Semifinal match of the night starting at 5:00p.
NECC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL SEMIFINAL ROUND
No. 3 Newbury College (16-10, 5-3 NECC) vs. No. 2 Lesley University (16-4, 7-1 NECC)
Friday, November 7th – 7:00p
Regis College – Weston, Mass.
*Fan Van departs from Lesley Lot B at 6:00p. Don't be late!*
Scouting Newbury
Sophomore Courtney Banks (Corona, Calif.) leads the NECC with 313 total kills on the season to go with her team-best 33 blocks on the defensive side. Freshman Heather Parish (Tucson, Ariz.) sets up the offense as she averages 9.26 assists per/set to lead the conference. The Nighthawks closed out their regular season by going 4-3 in their last seven matches before sweeping Southern Vermont College 3-0 in the First Round of the NECC Championship.
Scouting Lesley
Lesley enters the postseason winning eight of their last nine matches to earn a First Round bye. Freshman Anni Abbruzzese (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.) paces the Lynx offensive attack as she ranks third with 2.94 kills/set while classmate Ciara Bruning (Centerville, Mass.) chips in with 2.41 kills/set while ranking second in the conference with a .302 hitting percentage. Junior Emily Marden (Fremont, Calif.) leads the Lynx with 8.36 assists/set while junior Danielle McDonald (Lilitz, Pa.) anchors the defense with 4.02 assists/set.
Previous Matchup
The Lynx bested the Nighthawks 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 26-24, 15-5) in a five set thriller on October 21st in their only regular season matchup. Bruning led all players with a career-high 17 kills while Marden dished out a personal-best 43 assists.
This marks the first postseason matchup between the schools since 2009 when the Nighthawks defeated the Lynx 3-1 in the NECC Semifinals.
What's At Stake
The two teams are battling for a spot in the NECC Championship match where they will meet up with the winners of the Daniel Webster-Regis Semifinal match. A win would send Lesley to their third trip to the NECC Finals in program history. Newbury, who is making their sixth straight appearance in the Conference Semifinals, is also vying for their third straight trip to the Finals.