Colby and Tufts to Battle for NESCAC Volleyball Crown on Sunday

Courtesy Colby Sports Information

Box Scores:  Colby 3, Williams 0 | Tufts 3, Trinity 1

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.

2005 NESCAC VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Friday, Nov. 4 at Colby
at No. 1 Colby 3, No. 8 Wesleyan 0
No. 2 Tufts 3, vs. No. 7 Amherst 0
No. 4 Williams 3, vs. No. 5 Connecticut College 0
No. 6 Trinity 3, vs. No. 3 Middlebury 0

Semifinals - Saturday, Nov. 5 at Colby
at No. 1 Colby 3, No. 4 Williams 0
No. 2 Tufts 3, vs. No. 6 Trinity 1

Championship - Sunday, Nov. 6 at Colby
No. 2 Tufts at No. 1 Colby -  1:00 p.m.