Courtesy Westfield State Sports Information

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Springfield College was named one of eight regional sites for the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship on Monday morning as 64-team field was announced. The Pride, which earned an automatic bid to the national tournament after winning the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship on Sunday, will take on Westfield State University on Friday, Nov. 11, at 8:00 p.m.

The Pride will serve as the top seed in the region and will play Westfield State (15-20). In addition, Bowdoin (26-2) and Baruch (24-10) will square off , UMass Boston (26-4) will play NYU-Polytechnic (23-14), and Tufts (25-5) will take on Roger Williams (28-3) on Friday at Springfield.  The regional winner advances to the national quarterfinals at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis Nov. 18-20.

In her first season at the helm of the Pride, head coach Moira Long has orchestrated one of the finest seasons in program history. With a 31-2 record, Springfield is headed to the NCAA Championship for the third time in four seasons and the eighth time overall.

Westfield State is participating in the NCAA Division III national tournament for the third consecutive year after defending its Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship.

The Owls’ journey to their tournament site is a short one as they cross the Connecticut River to Springfield College. The Western Massachusetts rivals played twice during the regular season. Springfield outlasted Westfield in the season opener 25-22, 25-12, 25-23, and the Pride posted a straight set victory (25-14, 25-15, 25-17) in mid-season.

Westfield (15-20) is led by senior outside hitter Alex Shaw (East Falmouth, Mass.) and senior setter Kerin DeGirolamo (North Attleboro, Mass.). Shaw, the 2010 MASCAC player of the year, leads the Owls’ balanced offensive attack with 280 kills and a .339 attack percentage. Earlier this season she became only the second player in Westfield history to record 1,000 career kills.

DeGirolamo directs the Owl offense and was selected the MVP of the MASCAC postseason tournament. She leads Westfield with 966 assists (8.33 average) and 69 service aces. DeGirolamo has a school record 3,567 assists in her outstanding four-year career.

Sophomore outside hitter Julia Warner (Lee, Mass.) leads the Owls with 355 digs and ranks second with 269 kills. Sophomore transfer Lindsay Rescott (Northport, N.Y.) has 264 kills and 277 digs and junior middle blocker Kelsey Leonard (Billerica, Mass.) has a team-high 115 blocks (1.03 average) and 187 kills.

Sophomore libero Kayleigh Shea (Chelmsford, Mass.) ranks second with 288 digs (2.82 average). Senior defensive specialist Kelley Dickson (2.77 digs average) and freshman outside hitter Alyssa Danilow (126 kills) are other key contributors; both are from nearby West Springfield, Mass.