Nov 8, 2005
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South Easton, Mass. The Falcons of Bentley College, who now own eleven regular season titles, have soared to the top of the league volleyball standings and claimed the top seed for the 2005 Northeast-10 Conference Championship.
The two-day tournament will take place Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12 at Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y.
Pulling out a final regular season 3-2 win against the Skyhawks of Stonehill College, the Falcons completed the regular season with a 14-0 mark, the first unblemished Bentley record in NE-10 play since the 2002 season. The Falcons reached the 20 plus win plateau for the fifth consecutive season and enter the tournament with a 25-6 overall record. In the history of the conference tournament, Bentley has accumulated a 55-24 record and has been present at every league championship since the first-ever Northeast-10 Conference Volleyball Championship in the fall of 1980.
The Quarterfinal round kicks off Friday night, November 11 with #1 Bentley (14-0 NE-10, 25-6 overall) facing #8 Pace (8-6 NE-10, 13-13 overall). #2 Bryant University (13-1 NE-10, 23-9 overall) will meet #7 Le Moyne College (8-6 NE-10, 19-9 overall), the first post season meeting of the two teams since 1997. #3 The College of Saint Rose (12-2 NE-10, 23-5 overall) will face #6 Merrimack College (8-6 NE-10, 10-17 overall) for the first time in the Northeast-10 tournament. Also meeting for the first time in post season play will be #4 UMass Lowell (11-3 NE-10, 19-8 overall) and #5 Franklin Pierce College (9-5 NE-10, 13-12 overall).
The semifinal round will take place Saturday, November 12 at 2:00 p.m. when the winner of the Bentley/Pace match will face the winner of the UMass Lowell/Franklin Pierce match and the winner of the Bryant/Le Moyne match will meet the winner of the Saint Rose/Merrimack match. Also being played on Saturday is the title game between the semifinal winners, slated for 7:00 p.m.
NOTES: Bentley Head Coach Sandy Hoffman posted her 600th win this year as she led the Falcons to its 25th tournament and 24th in her career at the helm. The Falcons were edged by Bryant 3-2 in last years title game at American International College. Bryant saw its 37 game winning streak in league play snapped this year with a 3-2 loss to the Falcons this season. Saint Rose won its first-ever post season match in the 2004 tournament with a 3-2 victory over Le Moyne in the semifinals. UMass Lowell has participated in every Northeast-10 tournament since joining the league in 2000. The River Hawks have been the runner-up in both 2002 and 2000 tournaments and have yet to win a league title. Franklin Pierces first-year head coach Michelle Kreeger has led the Ravens to their first-ever Northeast-10 championship. Merrimack enters its 16th Northeast-10 tournament after a showing in the semifinals in 2004. The Warriors best performance in the tournament was in 2003 when they fell 3-0 to Bryant in the title match. Le Moyne has earned its eighth post season berth since joining the league in 1996. The Dolphins reached the semifinals in their first year as a league member in 1996 and again in 2000. Pace owns the highest winning percentage in the conference tournament with 13 wins to its four setbacks. The Setters won their first of three titles in 1997, their first year in the league, and then again in 1999 and 2000 after being the runner-up in 1998.
