Fredonia State's first foray into the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament will take it to Schenectady, N.Y., for a first-round meeting vs. the Haverford College Fords.
 Volleyball team after beating Cortland during the first-round of the SUNYAC tournament on campus. |
The Blue Devils (27-9) are one of eight teams entered in the Union College bracket, while the Fords (24-6) are making their third straight NCAA appearance as champs of the Centennial Conference.
Other first-round matches at Union are Stevens Institute vs. Sage Colleges, New Paltz vs. Hunter, and Rivier vs. Union. Stevens is ranked No. 25 nationally. The regional final is scheduled for Saturday.
Fredonia State earned its first-ever NCAA tournament berth by claiming SUNYAC's automatic bid with a 3-0 victory over New Paltz in the conference title match Saturday afternoon at Dods Hall. It is Fredonia State's first SUNYAC title in the sport.
Despite the setback, New Paltz received an at-large berth to the national tournament -- called a Pool C berth by the NCAA -- because of its high regional ranking. The Hawks were No. 4 and the Blue Devils No. 7 in the Nov. 2 NCAA New York regional rankings. Stevens was No. 1 and Union No. 2 in the same region, while Haverford was No. 4 in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The 61-team tournament field was announced Monday at 9 a.m. for all eight regional sites. Each of the regional winners will advance to the NCAA championship tournament Nov. 20-22 at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Ill.
