Volleyball Receives ECAC Tournament Berth; Play Neumann at Swarthmore on November 9
DANBURY, Conn. --- The Moravian College women’s volleyball team has received a berth in the 2016 ECAC Division III Championship Tournament, and the Greyhounds are the second seed in Region 2 and will play in a first round match on Wednesday, November 9.
DANBURY, Conn. --- The Moravian College women's volleyball team has received a berth in the 2016 ECAC Division III Championship Tournament, and the Greyhounds are the second seed in Region 2 and will play in a first round match on Wednesday, November 9.
Moravian will play third seed Neumann University, 18-17, on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. at Swarthmore College, the top seed in Region 2. The Garnet host fourth seed Rutgers-Newark in the other first round match in the region on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. The Greyhounds are making the program's eighth trip to the ECAC Division III Tournament and the first berth since 2012.
The ECAC changed the format of the tournament this year with one overall tournament with region-based opening rounds. After Wednesday's eight first round matches, the eight remaining teams in the 16-team field will head to the top seed for the quarterfinals on Saturday, November 12 starting at 11:00 a.m. followed by the semifinals and championship on Sunday, November 13 beginning at 11:00 a.m. Marymount (Va.) University is the top overall seed in the tournament heading into the first round.
Moravian Head Coach Shelley Bauder has led the Greyhounds to an 18-14 mark this season, and Bauder has a career mark of 481-312 in 24 seasons. She has the Blue and Grey in the postseason for the 19th time in her 24 campaigns including eight ECAC appearances and three NCAA Division III Tournament berths.
"We are so excited to be back in the ECAC tournament," stated Bauder. "The team has really improved this year and as a whole we are anxious to continue to battle together and and make a run in postseason."
The Hounds played Neumann on Saturday, September 17 in the final match of the Knights Invitational, earning a 3-1 win by set scores of 19-25, 30-28, 25-23, 25-22.
Junior hitter Mary Zacher leads the Greyhounds this fall with 322 kills to go with 390 digs, 41 service aces and 17 blocks. Senior middle blocker Taylor Kornmann has added 304 kills, a team-high 61 blocks, 66 digs and 25 service aces in her final season while sophomore middle blocker Erin Tiger has 279 kills, 54 blocks and 21 digs. Freshman hitter Brooke Kusmider has added 248 digs, 203 kills and 41 service aces in her debut season while senior right side hitter Jaclyn Smith has contributed 87 kills, 52 blocks and 37 digs this fall.
Freshman setter Victoria Kauffman paces the Blue & Grey with 1,119 assists to go with 220 digs, a team-leading 47 service aces, 38 kills and 27 blocks while junior libero Jean Markovic has contributed a team-high 531 digs, 37 assists, 27 service aces and six kills. Freshman defensive specialist Alexis Szaro has 232 digs and 28 service aces this fall while junior defensive specialist Ashton Galasso has added 55 digs and 12 service aces.
Sophomore defensive specialist Bridgette Devlin has 89 digs while freshman hitter Hailee Yoder has 14 kills and six digs. Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Farmer has added seven kills and 34 digs while senior right side hitter Courtney Kruscavage has seven kills and four digs.
To view the entire ECAC Division III Volleyball Championship Tournament field, visit http://ecacsports.com/news/2016/11/7/WVB_1107161514.aspx.
