LYCOMING VOLLEYBALL POISED TO COMPETE IN NCAA PLAYOFFS

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Lycoming College volleyball team will make their third appearance in the NCAA Division III Playoffs, Thursday evening, when they challenge Eastern University in the opening round of a regional tournament hosted by Gettysburg College.

The Warriors (16-19) earned an automatic berth in the playoffs by winning the Freedom Conference Championship, last Saturday, in a five-game victory over FDU-Florham. Lycoming is the sixth seed for the regional tourney. The Eagles (28-6) will be making their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after winning their eighth consecutive Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Championship. Eastern in the third seed in the tournament.

Lycoming and Eastern will play at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening, following the tournament’s opening match between number-four seed Frostburg State University (29-5) and number-five seed Salisbury University (25-11). Juniata College (32-3) and Gettysburg College (28-5) each receive a first-round bye as the number one and two seeds, respectively, for the tournament.

The Warriors are a veteran group led by seniors Seneca Reilly (Athens, Pa.; Athens), Kelli Watson (East Freedom, Pa.; Central), and Jana Reitz (Waynesboro, Pa.; Waynesboro).

Reilly is the team’s setter, averaging 9.56 assists per game this season. She has also contributed 187 digs, 47 service aces, and 47 kills in 112 games. Reilly is a two-time first-team all-conference selection and holds a handful of Lycoming records, including career assists (4,191) and career aces (258).

Watson is the Warriors’ leading outside hitter. She has recorded 460 kills, 392 digs, and 94 blocks in 127 games this season. Earlier this season, Watson became just the sixth player in Lycoming volleyball history to compile more than 1,000 career kills. She was also named to the all-conference first-team this season.

Reitz leads the Warriors in digs with 514 this season – equaling Lycoming’s single-season record. She has also chipped in 243 kills, 55 service aces, and 34 blocks in 130 games.

Sophomore Lindsey Artz (Hegins, Pa.; Tri-Valley) is also a key component of the Warriors’ championship team. Artz leads the squad in kills with 575 and blocks with 169 – averages of 4.42 and 1.30 per game, respectively. She also has tallied 330 digs and 64 service aces this season, and was named a second-team all-conference selection.

Eastern is a younger team with only one senior among their top players. Freshman Emma Klein leads the Eagles in kills with 389 and blocks with 62. Senior Lisa Kubachka adds 327 kills, while sophomore Chelsea Lyon and junior Jacey Bray have contributed 265 and 259 kills, respectively. Bray has also recorded 58 blocks this season. Junior Erin Meredith is Eastern’s setter, averaging 11.77 assists per game. She also leads the team with 98 service aces and 333 digs.

Lycoming and Eastern played six common opponents during the 2004 regular season. Both teams swept Marywood University and both teams defeated Moravian College – the Warriors in five games and the Eagles in three games. Eastern also swept York College, while the Warriors split two matches versus York, losing in five games on September 11, and winning in five games on September 24. Eastern has victories over Gallaudet University (3-0), Franklin & Marshall College (3-0), and Carnegie Mellon University (3-0) – teams that Lycoming fell to 1-3, 2-3, and 1-3, respectively.