Volleyball Earns Sixth Seed in NECC Championship

ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Mitchell College has earned the sixth seed for the the 2017 NECC Women's Volleyball Championship, as announced by the New England Collegiate Conference on Saturday night.

It came down to the last game of the regular season, but Elms College has earned the No. 1 seed in tournament. Elms finishes NECC regular season play undefeated at 7-0. The Blazers led the conference in kills per set (11.14) and assists per set (10.27), paced by rookie setter Dakota Stewart's conference leading 8.09 assists per set. With the top seed, Elms has earned a first-round bye and will host the winner of the first round match-up between No. 5 Bay Path University and No. 4 Southern Vermont on Friday, November 3 at 7:00 p.m.

The No. 2 seed and other first-round bye goes to Lesley University, which finished regular season conference play at 6-1, with their only loss coming at the hands of Elms. The Lynx have seen strong play from senior middle hitter Kaylee Deluga, who is averaging 4.26 kills per set in conference play. Lesley will host the winner of the first round match-up featuring No. 6 Mitchell College and No. 3 Becker College on Friday, November 3 at 8:00 p.m.

Due to its win over Southern Vermont on October 3, Becker earns the No. 3 seed after finishing the regular season tied with the Mountaineers with a 4-3 record. Becker has played strong defense and is second in the conference in blocked shots, behind Gillian Criddle's 0.47 blocked shots per set. Becker will host No. 6 Mitchell on Tuesday, October 31 at 7:00 p.m.

No. 4 seeded Southern Vermont will host No. 5 seed Bay Path University on Tuesday, October 31 at 7:00 pm. The Mountaineers have seen strong play from outside hitter Liv Sowles, who leads the conference in kills per set (4.15). Bay Path's Lauren Vallee is right behind Sowles at 3.73 kills per set, and is leading the conference in hitting percentage at .285.

The semifinals winners will face off in the NECC Championship on Sunday, November 5 at the highest remaining seed.

First Round – Tuesday, October 31
Game 1: #5 Bay Path University @ #4 Southern Vermont College – 7:00 p.m.
Game 2: #6 Mitchell College @ #3 Becker College – 7:00 p.m.

Semifinals – Friday, November 3
Game 3: Game 1 winner @ #1 Elms College – 7:00 p.m.
Game 4: Game 2 winner @ #2 Lesley University – 8:00 p.m.

Championship – Sunday, November 5
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner – TBD