Women's Volleyball Advances In NCAA Tournament

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Nov. 12, 2004 - Springfield College sophomore middle blocker Mary Kathryn O'Neil (Liverpool, N.Y.) totaled 11 kills and a .400 hitting percentage to lead the Pride to a 3-0 (30-19, 30-12, 30-28) sweep of Emmanuel College in the New England regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament tonight in Williamstown, Mass.

SC advances to the final where it will face host Williams College, which defeated Bridgewater State 3-1 (30-19, 25-30, 30-22, 30-18). The match is set for 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night.

Junior setter Alesia Vaccari (Winsted, Conn.), the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Player of the Year, dished out 32 assists in the victory. Senior outside hitter Christine Jones (Wallingford, Conn.) tallied 10 kills in the win while sophomore libero Leah Hettrick (Meriden, Conn.) had 14 digs.

This is SC's seventh NCAA Tournament bid in 11 seasons under head coach Joel Dearing. This is also the second consecutive year that the Pride and Williams will face each other in the New England regional final.

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Head Coach Joel Dearing

Joel Dearing will enter his 20th season as head women's volleyball coach at his alma mater in the fall of 2008. Dearing is regarded nationally as one of the sport’s best coaches and he has the resume to prove it. Dearing ranks in the top-10 in Division III history with a 638-293 (.685) overall mark in 27 seasons as a women’s volleyball coach. Read more.

Contact Head Coach Joel Dearing

E-Mail | Phone: 413.748.3438

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Springfield College 263 Alden Street, Springfield, MA 01109-3797 413.748.3000