November 5, 2005
Mount Ida Spikes Lasell in
Title Match, 3-0
Mustangs cruise to fourth-straight Conference Tournament
Championship
NEWTON, Mass. (Nov. 5, 2005) - The top seeded Mount Ida women’s volleyball team captured its fourth-consecutive North Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship this afternoon at the Mount Ida Athletic Center. Following a 3-0 (30-14, 28-30, 30-21, 30-18) victory over fourth seeded Maine Maritime Academy in the semifinal round earlier today, the Mustangs breezed to a 3-0 (30-24, 30-19, 30-21) shutout of second seeded Lasell College in the Conference Championship. Lasell advanced by way of a 3-2 (30-21, 22-30, 30-25, 24-30, 17-15) semifinal win over third seeded Husson College.
As a result of its fifth title in the Conference’s seven year history, Mount Ida (21-8, 10-0 NAC) will now receive an automatic bid to the 25th Annual NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship. Regional play opens on Thursday at yet to be determined campus locations.
Mount Ida junior Adrienne Xenos (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) earned NAC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Classmate Jacquelyn Kenel (Rockway Beach, N.Y./Bishop Kearey) and senior Christina Nikolaidis (Bourne, Mass./Bourne) were selected to the All-Tournament team. They were joined by sophomore Katelyn Rasich (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) and sophomore Allison Bianco (Fishkill, N.Y./John Jay) of Lasell, junior Casey Morey (Easton, Md./Easton) of Maine Maritime and senior Anne Woodsum (Addison, Maine) of Husson.
Mount Ida defeated a scrappy Maine Maritime squad, 3-0 in the first semifinal match of the day. A trio of Mustangs delivered double-doubles to boost the Mustangs to the Championship round. Nikolaidis racked up 14 kills and 25 digs, while Kenel delivered 11 kills, 27 digs, three service aces and a pair of block assists. Sophomore Blair Canan (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) added 12 kills and 30 digs. Mount Ida received superb efforts from its setter duo of freshman Stephanie Saito (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) and senior Lauren Benson (Bellingham, Mass./Bellingham), who delivered 24 and 22 assists respectively. Xenos rounded things out with eight kills, eight digs and seven service aces for the Mustangs.
Senior Katie Clapham (Crawford, Maine/Calais) led the Mariners with 17 kills, seven digs, two blocks and a pair of aces. Maine Maritime also received a solid performances from sophomore Becca Allen (Bucksport, Maine/Bucksport), who delivered 17 assists and Morey, who added 13 digs, three assists and two kills in a losing effort.
The second semifinal match of the day came down to the wire with Lasell edging Husson 3-2. The Lasers fought off three match-points in the fifth game to move on to the Championship.
Woodsum dominated play for the get-go piling up 25 kills, 20 digs, four aces and two blocks for the Eagles. Classmate Sonya McCarthy (Staceyville, Maine) and sophomore Ashley Cough (Bar Harbor, Maine) also added double-doubles in a losing effort. McCarthy recorded 13 kills, 21 digs and nine assists, while Cough registered 13 kills, 19 digs and three aces. Junior Tricia Porter (North Hampton, N.H.) tallied 41 assists for Husson.
Lasell met Mount Ida in the NAC Championship following its thrilling semifinal victory. Despite momentum, the Lasers fell 3-0 to a solid Mustangs squad. Nikolaidis posted her second double-double of the day on 15 kills and 33 digs, while Canan totaled eight kills and 27 digs. Xenos contributed seven kills, nine digs and four blocks, and Kenel chipped in with 28 digs. The trio of Benson, Saito and junior Kristyn Correia (Westport, Mass./Durfee) combined to direct the Mount Ida offense, collecting 17, 15 and 15 assists respectively.
North Atlantic Conference Championship All-Tournament Team
Tournament MVP: Adrienne Xenos, Mount
Ida
Christina Nikolaidis, Mount Ida
Jacquelyn Kenel, Mount Ida
Allison Bianco, Lasell
Katelyn Rasich, Lasell
Anne Woodsum, Husson
Casey Morey, Maine Maritime
NAC Volleyball Tournament
| Quarterfinals - Wednesday, November 2 at higher seeds | ||||
| (8) Becker | 0 | at | (1) Mount Ida | 3 |
| (7) Bay Path | 0 | at | (2) Lasell | 3 |
| (6) Lesley | 0 | at | (3) Husson | 3 |
| (5) Me.-Farmington | 2 | at | (4) Maine Maritime | 3 |
| Semifinals - Saturday, November 5 at Mount Ida | ||||
| (4) Maine Maritime | 1 | at | (1) Mount Ida | 3 |
| (3) Husson | 2 | vs. | (2) Lasell | 3 |
| Championship - Saturday, November 5 at Mount Ida | ||||
| (2) Lasell | 0 | at | (1) Mount Ida | 3 |
November 2, 2005
#1 Mount Ida Cruises to Victory of #8 Becker, 3-0
Mustangs to host NAC Semifinals and Championship on Saturday
NEWTON, Mass. - The top seeded Mount Ida women’s volleyball team (19-8, 10-0 NAC) cruised to a 3-0 (30-9, 30-13, 30-25) victory over eighth seeded Becker College this evening in North Atlantic Conference Tournament quarterfinal action at the Mount Ida Athletic Center.
With the win, the Mustangs secured home court advantage for the remainder of the Tournament, as the Athletic Center will serve as the site for both semifinal matches and the Championship. Mount Ida will face the fourth seeded Maine Maritime Academy on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. The Mariners edged the fourth seeded University of Maine Farmington 3-2 this evening. The other semifinal match will feature second seeded Lasell College and third seeded Husson College at noon. Lasell ran past seventh seeded Bay Path College 3-0, while Husson blanked sixth seeded Lesley University 3-0. The winners of the semifinal matches will meet for the NAC Championship at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Sophomore Blair Canan and junior Kristyn Correia each tallied double-doubles to lead Mount Ida. Canan took the conventional route, totaling ten kills and 15 digs, while Correia pulled off the rare combination of 11 aces and 12 digs. The Mustangs also received a spark from senior captain Christina Nikolaidis, who totaled eight kills, seven digs and two blocks. Classmate Lauren Benson rounded things out with 18 assists.
Becker received a solid performance from freshman Rachel Pinak, who totaled eight kills, four digs and a block. Classmate Kelly Anne Banner was next with six kills, while junior Danielle Rubin chipped in with six assists for the Hawks.
EAGLES ADVANCE TO NAC SEMI-FINALS
Bangor, ME – Husson advanced to the NAC Semi-Finals by defeating Lesley College 3-0. The Eagles cruised in all three matches winning 30-20, 30-21, and 30-21.
Senior Anne Woodsum paced the Eagles with 14 kills, 15 digs, and 2 service aces. Sophomore Ashley Cough chipped in with 10 kills and 21 digs. Junior Tricia Porter had 27 assists and 4 service aces while senior Sonya McCarthy had 14 digs, 7 kills, and 7 assists.
The Eagles will travel to Mt. Ida College for the NAC Semi-Finals where they will take on #2 seed Lasell College at 12:00 noon. The other semi-final round will be played at 10:00 AM with the Championship being played at 2:00 PM.
Lady Mariners defeat UMF 3-2 to advance to NAC semifinals
The Lady Mariners advanced to the NAC semi-finals after defeating the UM Farmington Beavers by a score of 3-2 in Castine. Game scores from the match were 25-30, 30-20, 30-13, 22-30, and 15-9.
MMA lost the first game 30-25, but the Lady Mariners battled
back to take the second by a score of 30-20. MMA took a 2-1 lead
when they closed out the third game by a score 30-13 The Beavers
didn't quit though, and they bounced back to win the fourth game by a score of 30-22. The final and deciding game went to the
lady Mariners by a score of 15-9.
Leading MMA were senior Katie Clapham (pictured right) with 17 kills, 49 total attacks and 7 digs, senior Katie Denham with 5 kills and 21 total attacks, and Becca Allen with 27 assists. Casey Morey chipped in with 4 kills, 15 attacks and 12 digs.
The Maine Maritime season record now stands at 18-8, and Maine-Farmington closes out their season with a record of 18-10. Next up for the Lady Mariners is a NAC semi-final contest away to Mt. Ida on Saturday, November 5.
October 31, 2005
Two-Time Defending Champion Mount Ida Earns Top Seed In NAC Volleyball Tournament
After completing conference play with a perfect 10-0 mark, two-time defending NAC Champion Mount Ida earned the top seed in the North Atlantic Conference Volleyball Tournament. The Mustangs (18-8 overall) will host eighth seeded Becker (5-20 overall, 3-7 NAC) in the quarterfinal round of the NAC Championship on Wednesday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m.
Lasell (17-15 overall, 9-1 NAC) will enter as the second seed for the third consecutive season and will host seventh seeded Bay Path (5-15 overall, 4-6 NAC) in the quarterfinal round. Lasell, who has lost only one conference match and dropped just three conference games this season, defeated Bay Path 3-0.
Husson will enter as the tournament as the third seed. The Braves (21-7 overall, 8-2 NAC) will host sixth seed Lesley (7-13 overall, 5-5 NAC) while fifth seed Maine-Farmington (18-9 overall, 6-4 NAC) will travel to fourth seed Maine Maritime (17-8 overall, 7-3 NAC).
The top eight teams qualify for the NAC Championship. Predetermined tiebreaking procedures were used to seed teams with identical conference winning percentages. Quarterfinal games will be played on Wednesday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the higher seed. Quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinals and finals held at the higher seed on Saturday, November 5. Semifinal game times for Saturday are 10:00 am and 12:00 p.m. with the championship at 2:00 p.m. The NAC Champion receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship.
