Tournament Homepage
HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 7, 2013) – On November 9 and 10, the Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team will host the 2013 Empire 8 Conference Women's Volleyball Championship in Canavan Arena. Stevens earned the outright No.1 seed after posting an unblemished 7-0 record in the Empire 8 this season.
The Ducks, 26-6 overall, began the year on a 12-0 start and continued their success through the remainder of the regular season. In Empire 8 contests, Stevens dropped just four sets in 25 total games played to secure the top seed this weekend. Yesterday, the conference released its
all-conference award winners and Stevens swept all four major honors.
Stevens has not won the Empire 8 title since 2009, which capped off a string of three consecutive championship runs from 2007 to 2009. In all three of those years, the Ducks hosted the conference tournament and swept their counterpart in the finals.
On Saturday, Stevens will take on No. 4 Ithaca College (16-21) in the first semifinal at 12 p.m. In the only meeting this season, the Ducks took down the Bombers in four sets on September 20 in the team's first conference match of the season. The other semifinal will be between two-time defending champion, No. 2 Nazareth College (27-8), and No. 3 Elmira College (21-11) at 2:30 p.m. The winners from each match will square off at 12 p.m. on the 10th with an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship on the line.
The four teams competing this weekend have accounted all 14 Empire 8 titles. Nazareth has won the most championships with six, Ithaca owns four, Stevens came out on top three times and Elmira won once in 2000.
All three matches this weekend are available on StevensDucks.com via
live stats. Webcast on Empire8.tv is still to be determined due to two other conference championships taking place on Stevens' campus this weekend. Head to the
tournament homepage throughout the weekend for complete results, all-tournament team and other useful information.
Tickets:
$5 General Admission
$3 Students/Seniors
Children under 12 – FREE
**Stevens students are FREE
Breakdown of Tournament Teams
No. 1 Stevens (26-6, 7-0)
Stevens boasts a balanced offensive attack, along with a solid setter and terrific back row, heading into the weekend. The Ducks' offense garners four players that have totaled over 300 points each this season with a setter that has dished out 1,100 assists in 110 sets played. Defensively, five different players have eclipsed 238 digs with one checking in at 642.
Freshman
Mary Tobin (Boothwyn, Pa.) leads the offensive charge with 334 points, while senior
Mary Caulson (West Islip, N.Y.) is not far off that pace with 333.5. Junior
Katie Hall (Midlothian, Va.) is a close third with 331.5 points and freshman
Christina Sciarra (Montclair, N.J.) totaled 305 points. Senior
Samantha Gates (Wilmington, N.C.) is tops in the conference in assists and assists per set, while junior
Kirsten Salmins (Wyckoff, N.J.) ranks second in total digs and digs per set.
The Ducks swept the Empire 8 Conference major awards (Coach, Player, Libero/Defesive Specialist and Rookie of the Year).
No. 2 Nazareth College (27-8, 6-1)
Second-seeded Nazareth visits Stevens this weekend in search of its third straight Empire 8 Conference title and 11th NCAA Tournament berth overall. The Golden Flyers bring a 27-8 overall record into Saturday afternoon's match against third-seeded Elmira.
Junior middle Maria Allocco was the MVP of the last two E8 Tournaments and comes equipped with one of the top hitting percentages in Division III at .391 (294-66-583). She also leads the team in blocks with 73 (0.59 per set).
Among the other players to watch is junior right side hitter Kassandra Buseck, who has twice been honored as E8 Player of the Week this season. She leads the team with 329 kills. Junior outside hitter Chelsea Beecher has amassed 267 kills and 234 digs plus a team-best 66 service aces. A pair of freshmen -- Maureen Thayer and Madi Wickens -- also have played prominent roles. Thayer, the starting libero, leads the team in digs with 417 (3.28 per set) and is second in assists with 335. Wickens has been named E8 Rookie of the Week three times this season and leads the team in assists with 769 (7.39 per set).
No. 3 Elmira College (21-11, 4-3)
For the fourth year in a row, the Elmira College women's volleyball team has reached the 20-win plateau after a successful trip to Rochester, N.Y. for the final Empire 8 Crossover weekend. The Soaring Eagles picked up two wins against Ithaca College and Utica College to clinch the No. 3 seed in the 2013 Empire 8 Volleyball Championship, marking the fourth consecutive season Elmira has qualified for the conference tournament.
Individually, the Soaring Eagles are led by senior outside hitter Taryn Rumsey, who ranks 10th in the nation in kills per set (4.35) and is eighth in the nation in points per set (5.03). Her 505 kills this season are the most by any player in the Empire 8 Conference, with the next closest player checking in with 381.
No. 4 Ithaca College (16-21, 4-3)
The Bombers enter the Empire 8 Championship Tournament for the third time in four years having won eight of their last 13 matches.
Junior Abbie Hutchinson leads the Bombers with a .252 hitting percentage with 160 kills. Rookie Shaelynn Schmidt has a Bomber-best 381 kills and junior Rylie Bean adds 250. Freshman Molly Brown and sophomore Carly Garone split setting duties having tallied 697 and 490 assists, respectively. Freshman Myan Idziur has served up 50 aces to lead Ithaca, while Hutchinson adds 45.
Defensively, sophomore Dylan Gawinski Stern has dug 308 balls. At the net, Hutchinson has posted a team-leading 68 blocks and rookie Siobhan Sorensen 66.
The Bombers have won four championships to date, the most recent coming on their home court in 2010.
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