Skyhawks earn fifth seed with best conference finish since expansion

Erin Johnson leads the Skyhawks with 252 total kills on the season. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

EASTON, Mass. (November 8, 2010) – Fifth-seeded Stonehill College, ranked ninth in this week’s NCAA Division II East Regional poll, will visit fourth-seeded American International College in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference Volleyball Championship. The match will get underway at American International’s Butova Gymnasium at 7 p.m.

Admission will be $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and children, and $1 for students of Northeast-10 member institutions. Fans can also follow the action online via the live webcast or live stats.

Stonehill (15-12, 11-4 NE-10) and American International (20-11, 11-4 NE-10) finished the regular season in a four-way tie with Adelphi University and Pace University for second place, with their final seedings determined according to the teams’ head-to-head records. The Skyhawks are 0-2 against the Yellow Jackets this season, falling 3-0 at the New York Institute of Technology tri-match on September 18, and in a closely contested 3-1 match at American International on October 12.

The Skyhawks closed out the regular season last week with three straight conference victories to improve to 11-4 against Northeast-10 opponents, their best finish since the conference expanded to 16 teams. They held off a rally by Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday to claim a 3-2 win, led by 14 kills at a .419 hitting percentage from senior Erin Johnson (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable), 15 kills and 16 digs from three-time NE-10 Rookie of the Week honoree Sydney Maxey (Hutto, Texas/Hutto), and 12 kills and 19 digs from junior Laura Huselton (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield). Stonehill followed with two straight 3-0 sweeps, downing Le Moyne College on Friday as Johnson led with 12 kills, and defeating The College of Saint Rose on Saturday behind 10 kills from senior Anna Berthiaume (Somersworth, N.H./Somersworth).

Three-time NE-10 Rookie of the Week selection Sydney Maxey has made her mark as a freshman. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Senior Andrea Wirth (Mesa, Ariz./St. Mary's) and sophomore Erin Kelly (Tinley Park, Ill./Marist) combined for 11.57 assists per game this season, helping Stonehill to the NE-10 lead in assists with 11.91 per game as a team. The Skyhawks also rank second in kills with a mark of 12.76 per game, powered by 252 total kills from Johnson and 250 from Huselton. Up front, seniors Berthiaume and Laura Noonan (Hampstead, N.H./Bishop Guertin) lead the blocking efforts, Berthiaume with a team-high 65 total blocks (eight solo) and Noonan with 56 total (12 solo). Anchoring the defense is senior libero Justine Thompson (Merrimack, N.H./Bishop Guertin) who ranks fourth in the NE-10 in digs with 4.62 per game, and collected a season-high 30 digs in just three sets against Saint Michael’s College on October 9 to earn her first career NE-10 Libero of the Week selection.

American International, currently ranked fourth in the NCAA Division II East Regional poll, rides a four-game winning streak into the quarterfinal match. Junior Ellisha Terry (Fort Worth, Texas/Everman Joe C. Bean) leads the Yellow Jackets with 367 total kills, ranking sixth in the NE-10 with an average of 3.29 per game, and junior Taila de Souza (Cunupia, Trinidad & Tobago/St. Joseph’s Convent) has registered 285 total kills. Junior setter Kervelle Redhead (St. James, Trinidad/St. Joseph's Convent) ranks first in the conference with 10.34 assists per game, and freshman Caitlin Connelly (Holbrook, N.Y./St. Anthony's) leads the defensive effort with a team-high 462 digs on the year. American International holds the top spot in the NE-10 in kills with 12.79 per game as a team, just ahead of Stonehill’s average of 12.76.

The Skyhawks’ last playoff appearance was in 2008, when they swept American International in the quarterfinal round before falling to the University of New Haven in the semifinals.

The NE-10 championship match will be played Saturday at the site of the highest remaining seed.