Westfield State Set To Square Off With Springfield In Opening Round Of 2011 NCAA Division III Volleyball Championships Friday Evening
Westfield State is set to make its third straight appearance in the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championships, as the MASCAC regular season and tournament champion Owls square off with Springfield in opening round regional play on Friday evening at Blake Arena in Springfield, Mass. beginning at 8:00 p.m.
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.
