CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – In a rematch of the 2014 New England Collegiate Conference Women's Volleyball Semifinals, the second-seeded Lesley University women's volleyball team will take on third-seeded Newbury College in tonight at 8:00p 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 6:00p.
The Nighthawks defeated the Lynx 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-22, 26-24) in a tightly contested 2014 Semifinals match to advance to the NECC Championship match where they lost to Regis 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 27-25, 25-18). Lesley answered with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-20) sweep of Newbury in their lone regular season match in 2015. Kayla Deluga (Dennis, Mass.) powered the offense for the Lynx in the October 22nd match as she knocked down a match-high 14 kills.
Friday's match between Newbury and Lesley will be the third in NECC postseason play, with the Nighthawks claiming victory in the previous two meetings.
NECC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL SEMIFINAL ROUND
No. 4 Daniel Webster College (11-18, 5-3 NECC) vs. No. 1 Regis College (20-10, 8-0 NECC)
Friday, November 6th – 6:00p
Regis College – Weston, Mass.
No. 3 Newbury College (16-10, 6-2 NECC) vs. No. 2 Lesley University (15-8, 7-1 NECC)
Friday, November 6th – 8:00p
Regis College – Weston, Mass.
Scouting Lesley
The Lynx enter the postseason winners of seven of their last eight matches with their only blemish coming in a 3-0 loss to Regis on October 28th. Deluga has paced the Lynx offense as she ranks first in the conference with a .326 hitting percentage and second in the NECC with 3.26 kills/set and 248 total kills. Senior Danielle McDonald (Lilitz, Pa.) has anchored the defense as she is tops in the conference with 4.51 digs/set while classmate Emily Marden (Fremont, Calif.) ranks second in the league with 8.36 assists/set.
Scouting Newbury
Junior Courtney Banks leads the NECC with 4.18 kills/set and 380 total kills on the season to go with her team-best 40 blocks on the defensive side. Marlen Reynoso . 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 Regis
The Pride posted their second straight 20-win season and have turned in 20 straight victories against NECC opponents dating back to 2014. Graciella Molinari and Sydney Trusty have each slammed down 202 kills on the season while Crystina Lathrop has dished out a team-high 543 assists. Nicole Connolly leads the Pride's defense with 258 total digs and 40 total blocks in 2015.
Scouting Daniel Webster
The Eagles enter the Semifinal Round after downing Becker College 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-21) in Tuesday's Quarterfinal match. After experiencing a six-game losing-streak in the middle of the season, DWC has righted the ship and won seven of their last eight matches. Hannah Koehler powers the offense with 220 total kills while Courtney Warrington leads the defense with 346 total kills. The Eagles lost in the 2014 Semifinals to Regis 3-0 (25-5, 25-14, 27-25).
What's At Stake
The winners of each respective Semifinals match will square off in the NECC Championship match for a shot to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Finals will be played on Saturday at Regis.