Volleyball team hosts postseason contest

Judges earn top seed in Division III New England Championship tournament

Liz Hood '15 (#7 in white) leads the Judges in kills this season.

The Brandeis University volleyball team will host a postseason contest for the first time since 2009 on Wednesday evening, as the Judges earned the top seed in the 2012 ECAC Division III New England Championship tournament. The Judges finished the regular season with a 19-13 record, and will take on eighth-seeded Albertus Magnus College (12-12) at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening, Nov. 7.

Brandeis, in head coach Michelle Kim’s ninth season at the helm, is making its seventh ECAC tournament appearance (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009). The Judges won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007, when Brandeis was also chosen as the top seed. This will be the first-ever meeting between Brandeis and Albertus Magnus.

The youthful Judges are led by sophomore outside hitter Liz Hood of Albuquerque, N.M., who finished third in the University Athletic Association (UAA) with a 3.60 kills-per-set average. Sophomore libero Elsie Bernaiche of Plantsville, Conn., was sixth in the UAA with 4.85 digs per set, while rookie middle hitter Maddie Engeler of Sandusky, Ohio, was second in the conference with 0.98 blocks per set. The Judges finished seventh in the UAA, a conference that boasts three of the top 12 teams in Division III.

Albertus Magnus is making its ECAC tournament debut after finishing the regular season at 12-12. The Hawks are paced by junior outside hitter Melissa Manning’s 1.83 kills per set and classmate and libero Nicole Acerra’s 4.08 digs per set.

The rest of the ECAC tournament field, which will play their quarterfinals on Wednesday evening, includes second-seeded Western New England University (22-7) hosting seventh-seeded Husson University (16-10); third-seeded Keene State College (19-16) taking on New Hampshire foe Daniel Webster College (16-11), the sixth seed; and fourth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State (19-13) taking on fifth-seeded Salve Regina University (17-14).

The semifinals and finals will be hosted at the site of the highest remaining seed on Saturday, Nov. 10. If Brandeis advances, the semifinals will be played at 10 a.m. and noon, with the finals to follow at 2 p.m.

For more information about Brandeis volleyball, please visit the Brandeis Athletics website.

Categories: Athletics

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