NAC Volleyball Preview / NAC Tournament Page

CASTINE--The Maine Maritime Academy women's volleyball team will be the No. 1 seed and host the North Atlantic Conference East Division quarterfinals and semifinals that get underway this weekend here at Smith Gymnasium. The Mariners enter the postseason with a 15-10 overall record, including an 8-0 NAC East ledger.

Schedule: In Saturday's NAC East Quarterfinals, Maine Maritime will play No. 4 seed UMaine-Presque Isle at 1 p.m., followed by No. 2 Thomas College versus No. 3 Husson University at 3 p.m. On Sunday, the winners from those two matches will meet in the NAC East Semifinals at noon.

Game Information: Admission to all three matches at MMA is FREE. For fans not making the trip, we will have Live Video and Live Stats by clicking on the links. Concessions will be available and proceeds help support MMA student-athletes and teams.

Records: Maine Maritime is 15-10 overall (7-1 at home) and finished conference play unbeaten for the eighth-consecutive season, while UMPI is 9-15 overall/7-5 on the road (3-5 NAC-E)...Thomas is 6-13 on the season (4-9 away) and went 5-3 in NAC play, as the Terriers are playing on a neutral court for the first time...Husson is 8-15 overall, 1-3 in a neutral site environment, 3-8 on the road and 4-4 in conference matches.

What's at Stake: The East and West winners will meet in the NAC championship match on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the West champion, which will be the SUNY Delhi or SUNY Cobleskill winner.

Series History: Maine Maritime holds a commanding all-time lead over UMPI (37-1), Husson (40-9) and Thomas (10-0)...the Mariners are meeting the Owls in the postseason for the second time, after a 3-0 win on Nov. 4 of last season in the NAC Quarterfinals.

Mariners to Watch: Sophomore outside hitters Sydney Williams (.296, NAC 3rd), Ally Hadley and junior middle hitter Ila Smith pace the offense with 228, 177 and 176 kills, respectively...Williams is a four-time NAC player of the week, Smith twice and Hadley once...Smith ranks first in the NAC and third in NCAA Division III with a .415 attack percentage...Hadley also leads the conference with 62 service aces, which is good for 22nd in the nation...senior setter Katie Albritton averages 5.32 assists per set for third in the NAC...as a team, MMA is 35th in Division III aces per set at 2.78.

Anchor Points: Maine Maritime is seeking its 11th NAC Championship, with the last occurring in 2022...MMA is 13-5 in three-set matches, 0-3 in four and 2-2 in five...the Mariners reached the conference finals every season since 2007 (no championship held in the 2020 COVID year)...Albritton has 2,531 career assists which is second in school history...senior defensive specialist Sydney Rich is three digs shy of 1,000 for her 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.

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. 

UMPI Notes: Senior Faith Graham paces the team with 2.34 kills per set and a .114 attack percentage...senior OH Alexis Engel and freshman OH/DS Mia Gutierrez are tied for third in the NAC with 55 aces apiece...as a team, the Owls rank second in the conference with 258, or 3.15 per set...three players average over 3.00 digs per set, including senior DS/L Blazick, Kylee (3.54), Engel (3.29) and Gutierrez (3.08).