Stony Brook, N.Y. ? The top-seeded Stony Brook Seawolves aim for their first America East Volleyball Championship crown when they host the event this weekend, beginning with the semifinals on Saturday, November 17. The winning semifinal teams will compete for the title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship on Sunday, November 18 at 1 p.m.
The Seawolves (23-7, 11-1 America East) are the number one seed by virtue of its regular season crown. New Hampshire (19-8, 8-4) is the second seed, Albany (19-9, 8-4) is the third seed, and Binghamton (16-17, 7-5) rounds out the four-team tournament. New Hampshire, Albany and Binghamton have combined to win the past five conference championships, while Stony Brook has never won the America East Championship.
Stony Brook enters the tournament riding an 11-game winning streak after dropping its first conference tilt to Albany, 3-2. The Seawolves have not lost since September 29. The tournament’s host team is led by senior outside hitters Jackie Ahlers (5.04 kills per game, .339 hitting percentage) and Morgan Sweany (4.35 kpg, 2.82 dpg, 52 aces). Their 23 wins this season is a school record for most wins in its Division I era.
New Hampshire wrapped up the second seed after a 3-1 defeat of Albany on the last weekend of the regular season. This is the Wildcats’ first trip to the America East Championship since they won the title in 2003. Head Coach Jill Hirschinger’s squad has the longest current winning streak in the tournament at four games. Senior Emmy Blouin (3.79 kpg, 4.28 ppg) and sophomore Kirsten Bates (3.54 kpg, 35 aces) headline a deep UNH team. Two more underclassmen, sophomores Kate Uitti and Alyse Lahti, are statistical leaders.
Albany, the defending America East Champions making their sixth-straight conference postseason appearance, received immediate contributions from freshmen Amanda Cowdrey and Brooke Stanley. Cowdrey, an outside hitter, leads the team with 3.47 kills per game, while Stanley is the primary setter. Senior Ashley Crenshaw and junior Kamisha Kellam will also help lead the offense this weekend.
Binghamton, the 2005 conference champion, fell to third-seeded UMBC in last year’s tournament as the number two seed. Senior blocker Jacki Kane set the school’s single-season blocks record (182) this season, and will try to stifle the Stony Brook attackers on Saturday. On the other side of the game, freshman Lindsey Mueller will quarterback the offense entering the tournament with 10.14 assists per game. Mueller is also second on the team with 3.44 digs per game.
Saturday’s semifinals will pit Stony Brook and Binghamton together at 1 p.m. New Hampshire and Albany will square off in the second semifinal beginning at 3:30 p.m. The winners will meet in the final. Live stats and live video will be available at AmericaEast.com.
2007 America East Volleyball Championship
Saturday, November 17, Stony Brook, N.Y.Semifinals:
#1 Stony Brook vs. #4 Binghamton - 1 p.m.
#2 New Hampshire vs. #3 Albany - 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 18Final: Winner #1 vs. Winner #2 - 1 p.m.