FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-036-07-08
Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Elizabethtown to Host Widener in Commonwealth Conference Volleyball Semifinal Match

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- After winning the first regular-season conference title in program history, the Elizabethtown College volleyball team begins pursuit of its first-ever conference postseason championship as the Blue Jays host Widener University in a Commonwealth Conference semifinal match on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at Thompson Gymnasium.

The Blue Jays (29-6 overall, 5-0 Commonwealth) carry a season-best nine-match winning streak into Wednesday's match against the Pride (16-18 overall, 2-3 Commonwealth), who are the fourth seed in the four-team tournament.

Admission to the match is $5.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors and $2.00 for students while children under age 6 are admitted free.

Elizabethtown owns a pair of 3-0 wins over Widener during the regular season, winning on the road in a conference match on Sept. 18 behind 17 kills from senior Ashley Whitmarsh and capturing a home-court victory at the Blue Jay Classic on Sept. 22 as senior Kelly Downs recorded a team-high 11 kills.

The Blue Jays, who were ranked third in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the latest NCAA Division III regional rankings, are seeking their first 30-win season since compiling a 33-13 record in 1988.

Leading the Blue Jay attack is Downs, who leads the Commonwealth Conference in kills per game (3.82), blocks per game (1.28) and hitting percentage (.391) and has set a single-season program record with 470 kills.

She is the program's career leader with 1,491 kills and ranks second with 561 blocks, just 11 shy of tying the program record of 572 blocks set by Nancy (Dunmyer) Brady '91 set from 1987 to 1990.

Whitmarsh has added 361 kills to increase her career total to 1,292, leaving her four shy of passing Liz (Bishard) Zeigler '98 for second on the school career list behind Downs.

Senior Stacey Wasserman has dished out 1,251 assists to set a school single-season record, and her 4,441 career assists are also a school record while her 1,400 career digs rank third behind Emily Morris '04 (1,895) and Bishard (1,440).

Widener is led by Kim Brady, who has a team-best 385 kills while hitting .243 to also lead the squad. Devan Green has added 313 kills while Becky Rohrbaugh has dished out 1,163 assists.

Defensively, the Pride are led by Julieanne Gryn who has 588 digs while Rachel Chizmadia has added 369 digs.

The winner of Wednesday's match will battle the winner of Wednesday's other semifinal contest between third-seeded Messiah College and second-seeded Lebanon Valley College on Saturday for the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.