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Date: November 5, 2005
Contact: Bill Sodoma
Colby, Tufts to battle Sunday for NESCAC volleyball title
WATERVILLE, Maine ---- Colby College and Tufts University, the top two
teams in the New England Small College Athletic Conference during the
regular season, will play for the NESCAC championship volleyball title and
the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament after securing
semifinal wins Saturday at Colby's Wadsworth Gymnasium.
Colby, the top seed, took a 3-0 win (30-19, 30-16, 30-21) over four-time
defending NESCAC champion Williams College in the first semifinal of the
day. Tufts, the second seed, battled to a 3-1 (30-19, 29-31, 30-20, 31-29)
win over sixth-seeded Trinity College in the other match. Colby and Tufts
will play at 1 p.m. Sunday in the championship game.
Colby's four seniors improved to 100-32 over the past four seasons with the
victory Saturday. Senior middle blocker Kaitlin Adams (Athol, Mass.) had 15
kills and six blocks to lead the Mules (33-3). Senior outside hitter Cait
Cleaver (Kennett Square, Pa.) added 10 kills, 16 digs and three blocks.
Senior outside hitter Megan Devlin (Branford, Conn.) had eight kills and 16
digs, first-year setter Jenny Lawrence (Lafayette, Calif.) Êhad 39 assists
and five service aces, junior Kendall Kirby (Piedmont, Calif.) had 26 digs
and senior Mariah Daly (Baltimore, Md.) had seven kills and three blocks.
Williams (18-13) received 12 kills, six digs and three blocks from Annie
Denison (Portland, Ore.). Riki McDermott (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) had
eight kills and 14 digs, Alexis Knepp (Austin, Texas) added 25 assists and
Krista Suojanen (Medfield, Mass.) had 11 digs.
Katie Wysham (Spokane, Wash.) had 16 kills and nine blocks to lead Tufts
(27-5) past the Bantams. Courtney Evans (Bellaire, Texas) had 11 kills and
eight blocks, Caitlin Dealy (Santa Barbara, Calif.) had 10 kills and 28
digs, Dana Fleisher (Aspen, Colo.) added nine kills and 28 digs, and
Kaitlin O'Reilly (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) had 48 assists and 23 digs.
Trinity (17-11) got 11 kills and 19 digs from Erika Heineken (Larkspur,
Calif.). Vanessa Forero (Bedford, N.Y.) had 10 kills and six blocks, Lucy
Hollis (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) had nine kills and eight digs, and Lindsey
Eichler (Glenview, Ill.) had seven kills and 13 digs.
NESCAC Volleyball Championships at Colby College
Friday's quarterfinal matches:
No. 1 Colby 3, No. 8 Wesleyan 0 (30-22, 30-21, 30-19)
No. 2 Tufts 3, No. 7 Amherst 0 (30-25, 32-30, 30-23)
No. 4 Williams 3, No. 5 Connecticut College 0 (30-23, 33-31, 30-27)
No. 6 Trinity 3, No. 3 Middlebury 0 (30-14, 30-23, 32-30)
Saturday's semifinals at Colby:
No. 1 Colby 3, No. 4 Williams 0 (30-19, 30-16, 30-21)
No. 2 Tufts 3, No. 6 Trinity 1 (30-19, 29-31, 30-20, 31-29)
Sunday's championship game at Colby: No. 2 Tufts (27-5) at No. 1 Colby (33-3), 1 p.m.
