INDIANAPOLIS, IN.- The NCAA selection committee released the 64-team field for the upcoming Division III Women's Volleyball tournament on Monday.
The number two seeded Juniata women's volleyball team will be heading to the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY. They will take on #7 Gallaudet in the first round Friday at 3:00. The Eagles earned an automatic bid to their 40th consecutive NCAA Tournament when they swept The University of Scranton in the Landmark Championship game this past Saturday.
The winner of the Juniata-Gallaudet matchup will take on the winner of the #3 Babson-#6 Endicott match on Saturday at 2:30. On the other side of the bracket, #1 RIT will take #8 Framingham State while #4 Wesleyan (CT) will play fellow Landmark school #5 University of Scranton on Saturday at 5:00. The regional final will be Sunday at 1:00.
Gallaudet enters the tournament at 21-11; they went 7-1 in the United East Conference during the regular season. They defeated PSU Harrisburg in the semifinals before defeating SUNY Morrisville in the championship to earn automatic qualification to the NCAA tournament.
Gallaudet has won six games in a row and is led on offense by Emily Wright and Karita Lewis, who have combined for almost 900 kills between the two of them. Emma Giuntoli leads the team in assists with 1,121; Mia Upchurch leads the team in digs with 507, while Anya Pothorski leads the team in total blocks with 64.
Juniata enters the tournament at 28-1, riding a 27 game winning streak and winning their 40th consecutive conference championship. They're led by Landmark Conference Championship MVP Victoria Taylor (Middletown, Del. / Delaware Military Academy) who led the team in kills with 270, while Kennedy Christy (Saxonburg, Pa. / Knoch HS) is second with 203. Olivia Foley (Coldwater, Mich / Coldwater HS) leads the team in assists with 925, Kiona Sky Rousset-Hernandez (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico / Colegio Bautista de Carolina HS) leads the team in digs with 477, Grace Erskine (Mooresville, N.C. / Community School of Davidson) leads the team in total blocks with 60 and Aly Reardon (Downingtown, Pa. / Downingtown West HS) leads the team in service aces with 41.
