FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-044-07-08
Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Elizabethtown to Battle Neumann in NCAA Tournament Opener on Thursday

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- For the first time since 1986, the Elizabethtown College volleyball team will compete in the NCAA Division III tournament when the Blue Jays play Neumann College in first-round action on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at Haverford College.

The Blue Jays (31-6 overall) claimed their first-ever Commonwealth Conference championship with a 3-0 victory over Lebanon Valley College on Saturday, while the Knights (23-10 overall) are making their first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament after defeating 10-time defending Pennsylvania Athletic Conference champion Eastern University 3-1 in the PAC final on Saturday.

The winner of Thursday's match will advance to second-round play on Friday at 7:00 p.m. against the winner of the match between DeSales University and host Haverford.

Also competing in the eight-team regional are defending national champion Juniata College, Philadelphia Biblical University, Salisbury University and Christopher Newport University. The winner of Saturday's regional championship match will advance to the NCAA quarterfinals at Illinois Wesleyan University on Nov. 15.

Admission is $7 for general admission, $5 for students (including college students with a valid identification) and senior citizens, $4 for children ages 3 to 12, and free for children under 3.

While the teams have not met since 2005, there is a familiarity between the programs. Neumann has participated in the Blue Jay Classic in each of the last three years, and the Knights are coached by former Blue Jay setter Deana (Maguire) Jespersen '96, who ranks seventh in both career assists (1,684) and aces (173) at Elizabethtown.

The Blue Jays are led by the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year in senior middle hitter Kelly Downs (Airville, PA/Red Lion), who leads the conference with a school single-season record 491 kills (3.81 per game), 168 blocks (1.30 per game) and a .388 hitting percentage. She is Elizabethtown's career leader in kills (1,512) and is tied for the program career record in blocks (572) with Nancy (Dunmyer) Brady '91.

Senior setter Stacey Wasserman (Upperco, MD/Owings Mills), the Commonwealth Conference tournament Most Valuable Player, has set a single-season program record with 1,313 assists, and also leads the Blue Jays with 68 aces and 451 digs. She also holds the Elizabethtown career record for assists (4,503) while ranking third in digs (1,423) and fourth in aces (273).

Senior outside hitter Ashley Whitmarsh (New Castle, DE/Padua Academy), who joined Downs as a first-team All-Conference selection, has added 378 kills (3.12 per game) and 224 digs this season. She ranks second to Downs in career kills at Elizabethtown with 1,309, and ranks 12th with 833 career digs.

Joining Downs up front is sophomore Kayla Deats (Middlebury Center, PA/Wellsboro), who has 212 kills and 106 blocks, while sophomore Paige Tanner (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro) was named second-team All-Conference as she posted 344 kills and 450 digs from her outside hitter position. Off the bench, senior Jenna Schirmer (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) has posted 147 kills and 34 blocks at outside hitter.

Senior libero Kayla Kassis (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) has recorded 438 digs this season (4.02 per game) to increase her career total to 1,028, good for seventh on the Blue Jay career list.

In the back, first-year students Allie Gold (Columbia, PA/Hempfield) and Amanda Ritchey (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) have been key parts of the Blue Jay defense, with Gold posting 422 digs (3.46 per game) and Ritchey adding 232 (2.76 per game) off the bench.

Neumann is led by junior Rachael Sokolovich, who has recorded a team-high 362 kills along with 255 digs this season. First-year student Ashley Mathis (338 kills) and junior Julia Tarloski (300 kills, 99 blocks) also pace the Knight attack.

Junior Kristen Verone has handled setter duties for Neumann, and has 1,060 assists and a team-high 57 aces along with 296 digs, while junior Meghan Wilson has posted 533 digs to lead the squad.

NCAA D-III Mid-Atlantic Volleyball Tournament Schedule

Thursday, November 8 (First Round matches)

(Match 1) #8 Philadelphia Biblical vs. #1 Juniata - 1:00 p.m.
(Match 2) #5 Salisbury vs. #4 Christopher Newport - 3:30 p.m.
(Match 3) #6 Neumann vs. #3 Elizabethtown - 6:00 p.m.
(Match 4) #7 DeSales vs. #2 Haverford - 8:30 p.m.

Friday, November 9 (Regional Semifinal matches)

(Match 5) Winner of match 1 vs. Winner of match 2 - 4:30 p.m.
(Match 6) Winner of match 3 vs. Winner of match 4 - 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 10 (Regional Championship match)

(Match 7) Winner of match 5 vs. Winner of match 6 - 7:00 p.m.