Trinity Volleyball Returns To Post-Season Play Friday Against Connecticut College
Bantam Junior Anderson Takes League Honors
Hartford, Conn., Nov. 4, 2009 - The Trinity College volleyball team, which posted a regular season record of 13-9 and finished tied with Amherst for fifth place in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) at 6-4, has qualified for the NESCAC Championship Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Bantams, seeded No. 6 in the tourney field due to a 3-2 loss to Amherst at home on October 21 during the regular season, enter the post-season on a high after handing Tufts, the top-seeded team in the league, a 3-2 loss on October 30, and downing Bowdoin, 3-1, the next day in NESCAC play at Amherst College. Trinity, coached by Jen Bowman (6th season), will play the No. 3-seeded Connecticut College Camels (21-5, 8-2) in the quarterfinal round of the league tourney on Fri., Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. at Tufts. The quarterfinal, semifinal, and final round games will all take place at Tufts from Nov. 6-8.
The winner of Trinity's quarterfinal match will play the winner of the 5 p.m. match on Friday between No. 2-seeded Williams (18-8, 8-2) and No. 7-seeded Bowdoin (19-10, 5-5). The other 5 p.m. match features No. 8-seeded Wesleyan (13-13, 4-6) against Tufts (26-3, 8-2 and No. 4-seeded Middlebury (20-5, 7-3) faces No. 5-seeded Amherst (19-7, 6-4) in the other 8 p.m. match. The winner of the NESCAC Championship Tournament will determine the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
Trinity, which did not qualify for the NESCAC Championship Tournament last fall, is attempting to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2005. The Bantams dropped their regular season match against the Camels, 3-0, at home on Oct. 17. Connecticut College is currently ranked No. 4 in the New England region, whole Tufts is No. 1, Williams is No. 2, Middlebury is No. 9, Amherst is No. 10, Trinity is No. 13, and Bowdoin is No. 15.
In the final weekend of the regular season at Amherst, freshman OH Danielle Isaman (West Hartford, Conn.) totaled 15 kills and four blocks against Tufts, while sophomore OH Sarah Blagden (Charleston, S.C.) totaled 15 kills, three aces, and 20 digs. Sophomore S Jennifer Low (San Francisco, Calif.) added 29 assists, and junior co-captain Kristen Anderson (West Haven, Conn.) had 15 kills. Anderson had 15 more kills and 17 assists against Bowdoin, while sophomore L Alexandra Pell (San Diego, Calif.) totaled 19 digs and did not have an error in 43 reception attempts, Low added 14 digs and 23 assists, and sophomore MH Courtney Chaloff (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) had six blocks and six kills. Anderson averaged 3.0 kills, 3.3 assists, and 2.3 digs while hitting at a .315 clip in three matches last week and was selected as the NESCAC Player of the Week for her efforts.
The Bantams rank second in the NESCAC in blocks with 1.85 per set (150), while Isaman ranks second in the league in kills with 3.78 per set (302), Anderson is tied for sixth in aces with 0.53 per set (41), and Pell and Blagden are fifth and 10th, respectively, in digs with 4.25 per set (340) and 3.95 per set (300). Isaman also leads the Bantams in attacks with 852 for a .212 hitting percentage, while Low has amassed 574 of the team's 818 assists this fall, and Anderson adds 161 kills and 463 attacks for a .186 hitting percentage, 202 assists, 170 digs, and 38 blocks. Chaloff tops the Bantams with 63 blocks and classmate Kelly O'Brien (Pelham, N.Y.) has 60 blocks.
