Story courtesy of Christa Parulis-Kaye, Assistant Commissioner of Media Relations
ATTLEBORO, Mass. - Newbury College has claimed the top seed for the 2009 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Men's Volleyball Championship, which takes place Saturday, March 28th on the campus of Hellenic College in Brookline, Mass. The Nighthawks (22-10 overall) earned the top spot in the upcoming NECC tournament after finishing with a 7-1 conference record.
Elms College (16-12), which also finished tied for first with Newbury, posting a 7-1 NECC record, claimed the #2 seed in the tournament.
As specified in NECC men's volleyball championship guidelines, a two-way tiebreaker was applied to determine the top seed and tournament host. In the initial step, both Newbury and Elms split during regular season with the Blazers winning 3-1 on January 31st and the Nighthawks took their second meeting 3-1 on February 26th.
In the second step, both teams' records against all other NECC teams in descending order of the conference standings were examined. Since both teams were undefeated against the remaining conference teams, this step provided no relief.
In the third step, the teams' records against common non-conference opponents were examined. There were 11 common opponents. This step put Newbury over Elms, awarding the first seed to the Nighthawks.
The third spot was claimed by the Eagles of Daniel Webster College (5-12) finishing with a 4-4 conference record. The final spot was earned by the Lynx of Daniel Webster (3-18) finishing with a 2-6 NECC record.
The 2009 NECC Men's Volleyball Championships will take place in one day at one site with the #1 seed Newbury hosting the #4 seed Lesley in the 11:00 a.m. in game one of the semifinals. The #2 seed Elms will face the #3 seed Daniel Webster at 1:00 p.m. in the semifinals match.
The winners of these semi-final matches will advance to the championship match, which is set to begin at 3:00 p.m.
2009 NECC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Semifinals • Saturday, March 28
#4 Lesley (3-18, 2-6) vs. #1 Newbury (22-10, 7-1), 11:00
a.m.
#3 Daniel Webster (5-12, 4-4) vs. #2 Elms (16-12, 7-1), 1:00
p.m.
Championship Match • Saturday, March 28
Semifinal Winners, 3:00 p.m.
*All Matches will be hosted by Newbury at Hellenic College, Brookline, Mass.