Castine, Maine - The Lady Mariner volleyball team hosted the North Atlantic Conference Championships on Saturday and came away victorious, beating UMaine Farmington and Husson University to win the championship. MMA beat UMF 3-0 and then ran past Husson University 3-0 to earn the NAC automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.

In the first match: The #1 seeded Maine Maritime Lady Mariners beat the #4 seeded University of Maine at Farmington by the score of 3-0 (25-12, 25-17 and 25-8). The Lady Mariners controlled play from the outset sweeping the match and paving their way to the NAC Finals. Chelsea Ward (Homer, AK) dominated, collecting 18 kills, 8 aces, and 7 digs. Ward had a .562% hitting percentage and had no errors in 32 attempts. Senior Amy Young (Cumberland, ME) played well collecting 5 kills while Heather Moore (Macedon, NY) had 4 kills of her own. Jenn Dixon (Woodstock, MD) set the table for the Lady Mariners with 25 assists in the victory. Dixon and Lauren Sakahara (Bellevue, WA) each had 12 digs.

Jenna Rowan (Kittery, ME) led the Beaver attack with 8 kills and 12 digs in the loss. Katie Allen (Bucksport, ME) collected 14 assists while Shannon Mitchell (Portsmouth, NH) had 5 kills, 7 digs, and 4 blocks. With the victory MMA improves to 21-5 on the year while the Beavers season comes to an end at 10-11 overall.

In the second semi-final match of the day: The Eagles of Husson University (#2 seed) defeated the Spartans from Castleton State College (3# seed) by the score of 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-22, and 26-24). The win moves the Eagles into the championship game against Maine Maritime Academy. The Eagle's were led by Hannah Olstad (Farmington, NH) and Kaitlyn McKay who each had 12 kills. Marion Kish (Wallingford, CT) had 40 assists, while Mckay added 19 digs. The win moves the Eagles to 14-14 on the year.

Castleton State College, which ends it's season at 14-8 was led by NAC Rookie of the Year, Ashley Kepaa (No. Attleboro, MA) who had a game high 14 kills to go along with 9 digs. Jamie Lemieux (Argyle, NY) contributed 12 kills and 9 aces while Jennifer Vibert (Farmington, CT) had a team high 20 assists. Ariel DeGregory (Schuylerville, NY) finished with 17 digs.

The championship game, featured the Lady Mariners and Husson University going head to head. This marked the third straight year these two teams have met in the NAC Championship game. MMA dominated play and won the match 3-0 (25-7, 25-16, 25-11). MMA secured the championship behind the efforts of Chelsea Ward who once again was outstanding collecting 16 kills and 7 digs. Ward, who was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player, had 34 kills and only 1 error on the day. Jenn Dixon had 31 assists while Lauren Sakahara led the team with 10 digs. Amy Young was outstanding collecting 10 kills. MMA improves to 22-5 on the season and will be advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

The loss ends Husson's season and drops them to 14-15 overall. Kaitlyn McKay led the Eagles with 5 kills in the match and Marion Kish dished out 13 assists. Michelle Smith led the Eagles with 7 digs.

The following players were selected to the 2009 North Atlantic Conference Volleyball Championships All-Tournament Team:

Jenna Rowan – University of Maine @ Farmington
Jamie Lemieux – Castleton State College
Marion Kish – Husson University
Kaitlyn McKay – Husson University
Amy Young – Maine Maritime
Jenn Dixon – Maine Maritime

Tournament MVP:

Chelsea Ward – Maine Maritime