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Gameday Central: Springfield Regional Championship Results
Springfield, Mass. - November 12, 2010 - Springfield College is proudly serving as the host of the 2010 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Springfield, Mass. Regional Championship. All four matches on Friday proved to be three-game sweeps as Middlebury, UMass Boston, Amherst, and Springfield advanced to the regional semifinals.
Middlebury 3, NYU-Polytechnic 0
In the first match of the day, the third-seeded Middlebury College women's volleyball team cruised to a three-game sweep over sixth-seeded NYU-Polytechnic in a quarterfinal match of the 2010 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Springfield, Mass. Regional Championship.
The Panthers notched their first-ever NCAA Tournament win by virtue of a 25-12, 25-15, 25-13 sweep of the Blue Jays. Middlebury (25-5) advances to a second-round match-up on Saturday, where they will take on the winner of the UMass-Boston/Maine Maritime match at 3:30 pm.
Middlebury was led by freshman Megan Jarchow (Cos Cob, Conn.) with nine kills and a .300 hitting percentage. She also had four digs and one block solo. Sophomore Julia Gibbs (Houston, Tex.) was right behind Jarchow with eight kills and a .353 hitting percentage. She also had a match-high five service aces and three blocks.
"I thought Julia had a very nice match overall," said Middlebury head coach Sarah Raunecker. "She was very sharp in many phases. It was a good team win. Defensively, we did fine. Our goal right now is to remain as sharp as we can be."
"Elissa (Goeke) also had good match," said Raunecker. "She was very consistent." In two games, Goeke, a junior from Chevy Chase, Md., had six kills with only one error in 12 swings. Her hitting percentage was .417.
NYU-Polytechnic finished its season with an overall mark of 20-20.
Said Head Coach Marc Solondz, "The first thing I want to mention is that it was good to be here (in the NCAA's) again. But I have to admit that I do not think we played as well as we could have. Credit goes to Middlebury, however. They are a very good team. We can't play such a good and capable team like we did today, play like we did, and expect to win.
"We have a big class coming in next season," said Solondz. "I certainly hope to be back in the NCAA's once again."
As a team, Middlebury hit .231, while NYU-Polytechnic hit .031.
Senior setter Lauren Barrett (Medfield, Mass.) finished with 30 set assists for the Panthers. Sophomore Caitlin Barrett (Medfield, Mass.) finished with a match-high 15 digs.
The scores of each of the sets was 2-2 at one point. But in each case, Middlebury scored the fifth point, and never trailed from thereon. In the third game, Middlebury hit .458, committing only one error.
For NYU-Polyechnic, senior Meredith Shipman (Sugarland, Tex.) had seven kills. Junior Victoria Kalvert (Missouri City, Tex.) also had seven kills.
UMass Boston 3, Maine Maritime 0
UMass Boston/Maine Maritime Box Score
In the second match of the day, #2-seeded UMass-Boston defeated #7-seeded Maine Maritime Academy, 3 games to none, in the 2010 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Springfield, Mass. Regional Championship. Game scores were 25-13, 25-11, 25-14.
It was the second straight contest that went according to form as #3-seeded Middlebury College had earlier defeated #6-seeded NYU-Polytechnic by the same 3-0 score. Those game scores were 25-12, 25-15, 25-13.
UMass-Boston is now 28-4, while Maine Maritime ends at 18-10. UMass-Boston next plays Middlebury Saturday at 3:30 pm.
"I thought we played well," said UMass-Boston Head Coach Terry Condon, "especially when you consider it was our opening match. You are always looking to get those jitters out as early as possible, and we managed to get through it."
"Our two freshmen are two to talk about," said Condon. "One hit .545, the other .364. I was especially pleased with their play."
Condon was referring to outside hitter Amber Clemons (Simi Valley, Calif.) who had seven kills and only one error in 11 swings (.545). She also had a service ace and three blocks. Condon was also referring to outside hitter Corrine Porter (Huntington Beach, Calif.), who had a match-high-tying 11 kills with only three errors in 22 attempts (.364). She also had three service aces, seven digs, and three blocks.
Also with good numbers was sophomore middle hitter Shannon Thompson (Moorpark, Calif.) with 11 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Casey Hanneman, a junior from Denver, Colo., and Frana Burtness-Adams, a sophomore from Fairbanks, Alaska, shared the setting duties. Hanneman had 19 assists, Burtness-Adams 17. Bethany Rossoll, a sophomore libero from Colorado Springs, Colo., led her squad with 14 digs. Thompson added 12.
On the other side of the ledger, Maine Maritime head coach Katrina Dagan admitted her team "had a rough day." Said Dagan, "We just didn't play as well as we had in the last few weeks. But credit UMass-Boston. They are a very good team. We were just constantly on the defensive today."
Dagan found some solace to mention. "We have all our starters returning in 2011. We need to somehow channel what we learned today in a positive manner to make us better." Junior outside hitter Chelsea Ward (Homer, Alaska) led the Mariners with seven kills. Junior Lauren Sakahara (Bellevue, Wash.) was Maine Maritime's best with nine digs.
Amherst 3, Lesley 0
In the third match of the day, top-seeded Amherst College defeated #8-seeded Lesley University, 3 games to none, in the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Springfield, Mass. Regional. Game scores were 25-9, 25-10, 25-13.
With the win, Amherst is now 25-3, while Lesley finishes at 20-10. Amherst will next play Saturday at 6 pm against the winner of tonight's final match between #4-seeded Tufts and #5-seeded Springfield.
Junior outside hitter Cristy Meier (San Anselmo, Calif.) led her Amherst squad with 13 kills and no errors in 18 swings for a spectacular .722 hitting percentage.
As a team, the Lord Jeffs hit .439, while limiting the Lesley Lynx to a minus .023 percentage.
Others who played extremely well for Amherst included senior middle hitter Laura Hyman (Glencoe, Ill.) (7 kills, .700 hitting percentage), and junior outside hitter Katherine Kanoff (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) (7 kills, .462 hitting percentage).
For Lesley, sophomore middle hitter Amanda McCracken (Eldersburg, Md.) had an excellent performance. The New England Collegiate Conference Player of the Year finished with 11 kills and just two errors in 19 swings for a .484 hitting percentage. Freshman defensive specialist Caitlyn Vandenburgh (Swansea, Mass.) compiled a match-high 13 digs.
Lesley head coach TJ Haijar was very realistic in his assessment of the match. "It was an eye-opener for us, no doubt," he said. "But we would rate it a bulding block type of match for our program. It was a big deal for our players.
"We played three sophomores and three freshmen, and lose only two seniors. I didn't think we got too flustered. Amherst was just that good. I hope we'll be back."
Amherst was never really in any serious trouble in this match. In the first game, the Lord Jeffs led by scores of 4-0, 13-2, and 22-8 before winning 25-9. In the second game, Lesley kept pace until it was 5-5. Amherst then scored 20 of the last 25 points to win that game, 25-10. In the third game, Lesley again got off to a good start, leading 8-7. But again, the Lord Jeffs ended the match by winning 18 of the last 23 points.
Springfield 3, Tufts 0
