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CASTINE--Maine Maritime Academy will travel to Cobleskill, N.Y., where the Mariners will play host SUNY-Cobleskill in a matchup of East and West division winners for the 2024 North Atlantic Conference Women's Volleyball Championship on Saturday (1 p.m.) at Iorio Gymnasium.

Records: Maine Maritime is 17-10 overall (6-7 on the road) and finished conference play unbeaten for the eighth-consecutive season at 8-0...SUNY-Cobleskill comes in at 8-20 on the season (5-5 at home) and 3-3 in conference play.

What's at Stake: The NAC champion gets automatic qualification into the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball National Championship, which starts on Nov. 21 at regional sites...the finals will be held Dec. 4-7 in Salem, Va.

Series History: Maine Maritime swept Cobleskill in the teams' only previous meeting on Nov. 6, 2021, in Castine...that victory came during the NAC championship match and gave the Mariners their fifth title in a streak of six in a row.

How They Got Here: In the NAC East Quarterfinals/Semifinals, top-seed Maine Maritime swept No. 4 seed UMaine-Presque Isle (25-10, 25-13, 25-9) and then No. 3 Husson University (25-11, 25-17, 25-11)...On the West side, SUNY Cobleskill swept Vermont State-Johnson (25-15, 25-17, 25-8) in a No. 2-3 matchup and then upset No. 1 seed SUNY Delhi on the road, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 18-25, 15-12.

Mariners to Watch: Sophomore outside hitters Sydney Williams (.296, NAC 3rd), Ally Hadley and junior middle hitter Ila Smith pace the offense with 241, 190 and 190 kills, respectively...Williams is a four-time NAC player of the week, Smith twice and Hadley once...Smith ranks first in the NAC and fifth in NCAA Division III with a .414 attack percentage...Hadley also leads the conference with 65 service aces, which is good for 22nd in the nation...senior setter Katie Albritton averages 5.27 assists per set for third in the NAC...as a team, MMA is 32nd in Division III aces per set at 2.82.

Anchor Points: Maine Maritime is seeking its 11th NAC Championship, with the last occurring in 2022...MMA is 15-5 in three-set matches, 0-3 in four and 2-2 in five...has won 14 of its last 17 outings...the Mariners reached the conference finals every season since 2007 (no championship held in the 2020 COVID year)...Albritton has 2,559 career assists which is second in school history...senior middle blocker Chloe Weeks surpassed 500 career kills during the first two rounds of the NAC Tournament and now has 510...Williams is 28 kills shy of 500 in her two-year, 157-set career.

Dig This: Freshman libero/defensive specialist Hannah Tate has received six NAC citations this fall, including four Rookie of the Week and two Defensive Player of the Week awards...Tate is second in the conference with 4.05 digs per set, and her 300 on the season ranks 19th in MMA history...senior defensive specialist Sydney Rich totaled 12 digs over six sets last weekend to raise her career total to 1,009, which lists fourth in MMA all-time annals.

Coach Heather Benson (South Carolina '05): A former assistant at Bryn Mawr College and Susquehanna University, Benson is at her second stop as a collegiate head coach. In her first season with the Mariners, she piloted the team to another NAC East first-place finish for the program. 

Cobleskill Notes: Sophomore OHs Kathleen Smart leads the team with 187 kills, followed by Emma Hinze with 161, Hallie Gasner has 152 and freshman MH Ciarra Jager, 103...setting duties fall to sophomore Baylee Kirschberg with 393 and junior Jade Ward 196 assists, respectively...the Fighting Tigers hit .082 as a team while allowing opponents a .214 clip (the Mariners lead the NAC at .217, which is more than 100 points more than second-place VTSU-Johnson)...Smart has 48 aces, Ward, 45, and Gasner, 40...Smart also tops the team with 269 digs.