We closed out our 2008 regular season with a third-place finish at the Hall of Fame Tournament, and convincing conference wins over MIT and Smith. Entering post-season play, we were 25-6 overall, good enough for #3 in the region. We were also 8-1 in conference play, which earned us the #2 seed in the NEWMAC tournament, where we beat Wheaton in the quarters and MIT in the semis before dropping a heart-breaking 3-2 match to Springfield in the finals.

Although we missed out on the automatic qualifier, we earned an at-large bid to the 2008 NCAA tournament, which begins this weekend with the New England Regional tournament at Tufts University. We're seeded #3 in the regional bracket, behind Springfield and Tufts, so we'll play #6 Endicott in the quarterfinals at 6:00 pm on Thursday, November 13. If we win, we will play the winner of Tufts/Bridgewater State in the semis on Friday at 7:00. (For the regional bracket, click here. For the full NCAA bracket, click here.) If we play well, we have a good shot at winning the region and advancing to the Elite Eight, which will be held the following weekend, November 20-22, at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Ill.

Statistically, we've had an excellent year. As a team, we lead the NEWMAC in total kills (1339), kills-per-set (12.75), hitting percentage (.232), assists-per-set (12.09), digs (1877), and digs-per-set (17.88). Individually, we've been strong as well. Samantha Du ('11) is third in the conference in hitting percentage (.292) and third in blocks-per-set (.94); Jessica Duff ('09) is third in kills-per-set (3.69) and fourth in points-per-set (4.29); Victoria Peng ('11) is first in assists (1141) and assists-per-set (10.97); and Emily Peters ('09) is first in total digs (520) and digs-per-set (5.10). We've also had two NEWMAC Players of the Week: Peng once and Alice Cummings ('10) twice.

We look forward to a strong performance in the NCAA tournament this week and next. If you can attend one of our matches, we'd love to have the support.

Best wishes,

Dorothy