Stevens Women's Volleyball To Face Johnson & Wales In NCAA New York Regional
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (November 8, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women’s volleyball team will make its seventh-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday, November 12 when it squares off against Johnson & Wales University in the opening round of the New York Regional at the Coles Sports Center on the campus of host New York University. The second-seeded Ducks, who have posted 30-plus wins in five of the last six seasons, enter Friday’s showdown with the seventh-seeded Wildcats (24-12), with a 32-5 overall mark.
“We’re thrilled about having the opportunity to participate in this year’s NCAA Tournament,” said head coach J.J. O’Connell. “I felt good about our resume, but you never know what can happen because there’s a lot of quality teams throughout the country. It’s going to be a tough draw, but we’re happy to be at NYU again and I’m sure they’ll do another great job hosting.”
Forty-two programs were awarded automatic berths – by virtue of winning their conference tournaments – with two teams qualifying from Pool B, which consists of independent institutions and institutions that are members of conferences that do not meet the requirements for automatic qualification. Stevens nabbed one of the final 19 at-large berths reserved for Pool C, consisting of institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that are not the conference champion and any remaining Pool B teams.
The No. 3 seed United States Coast Guard Academy (29-5) will face sixth-seeded Roger Williams University (29-5) at 12:30 p.m. to open Friday’s opening round, followed by the Ducks match-up with the Wildcats at 3 p.m. Fourth-seeded Clarkson University (27-9) faces fifth-seeded Hunter College at 5:30 p.m. in the other half of the Regional bracket, with top-seeded NYU and No. 8 Westfield State University meeting in the nightcap scheduled for 8 p.m.
The first of two Regional semifinals at NYU, featuring the winners of No. 2 Stevens/No. 7 Johnson & Wales and No. 3 USCGA/No. 6 Roger Williams is slated for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 13, with the winners of No. 1 NYU/No. 8 Westfield St. and No. 4 Clarkson/No. 5 Hunter tipping-off at 7 p.m. The Regional final is currently set for 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 14.
After winning its first five matches, Stevens dropped a pair of contests to Eastern University and Ramapo College, dropping to 5-2 on the year. The Ducks then reeled off five more wins before going 2-2 at the first of two Empire 8 Crossover Weekends. From there Stevens won 20 of its final 21 matches, cruising to a 32-5 mark and the second-seed at the New York Regional.
An anchor in the Stevens defense since arriving on the Hudson, senior standout Julia Reilly continued to impress, earning Empire 8 Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year honors for her efforts. With 457 digs on the year, the Oradell, N.J. native stands seven digs shy of becoming just the second student-athlete in program history to eclipse the 2,000 dig plateau.
Building on a spectacular freshman season in which she earned Empire 8 Rookie of the Year honors and AVCA All-Region and honorable mention All-American accolades, sophomore Maggie Kowalska was named to her second-consecutive all-conference first-team, hitting .302, while averaging 2.72 kills per set. The Edison, N.J. native also set a single-season school record in block assists with 109, while also breaking the total blocks mark for a single year with 125.
Senior Maggie Majcher and freshman Chrissy Dickinson rounded out the list of Stevens’ all-league selections earning honorable mention accolades. Majcher averaged 2.68 kills and 2.71 digs per set this season, becoming just the third student-athlete in program history to surpass the 1,000 kill plateau, while Dickinson amassed the second-most block assists and total blocks in a single-season with 108 and 124, respectively.
Senior setter Sara Budar also enjoyed a stellar season – her final one at Castle Point – breaking the school record for assists (3,079) while directing the Ducks’ offense, becoming the first player in program history to surpass 3,000 career helpers.
Johnson & Wales, now 24-12 on the year, earned its automatic berth into the 2010 NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship by capturing the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship. The Wildcats will be making their fifth appearance in the NCAA Championship – their first since 2002.
Senior Catherine Bravo (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico), the 2010 GNAC Player of the Year, leads the Johnson & Wales attack, averaging 2.9 kills, 3.4 assists, and 2.4 digs per set. Fellow senior and all-league pick Nikki Balchumas (Brockton, Mass.) averaged 1.9 kills and 2.45 digs for the Wildcats this season, while senior Emma Anderson (Meriden, Conn.), another all-conference selection, averaged 1.64 kills.
The Ducks hold a 3-1 record against common opponents, having beaten St. Joseph’s College (3-1), SUNY New Paltz (3-0), and SUNY Fredonia (3-0), while losing to Ithaca College (3-1). The Wildcats finished the season 1-3 against the same opponents, falling to New Paltz (3-0), Fredonia (3-0), and Ithaca (3-0).
Stevens is 8-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. The Ducks, who reached the quarterfinal round in 2006 and 2007, fell to Christopher Newport University, 3-2, in the opening round of last year’s New York Regional.