ECAC Metro/Upstate Volleyball Championship Preview

Alfred State will host the ECAC Metro/Upstate Volleyball Championship on Sunday, Nov. 16th. The Lady Pioneers are the #3 seed and will welcome #1 Ramapo, #2 Ithaca, and #4 Rutgers-Newark.

Tournament Schedule - November 16 - Orvis Activities Center

Admission: $3, Children under 12 free, Students with College ID free

#1 Ramapo: 25-9

The Roadrunners are led by a trio of All-NJAC performers. Larysa Iwaskiw was named 1st team, Emily Guzman was named 2nd team, and Kaitlin Mac Iver was named honorable mention.

Iwaskiw has recorded 518 kills (4.84 per set) and has been named the NJAC rookie of the week seven times. She also recorded 422 digs. Guzman has recorded 246 kills (2.10 per set), 154 digs and 28 solo blocks. MacIver passed out 964 assists and recorded 279 digs.

Ramapo defeated all three other teams in the tournament during the regular season. The Roadrunners won all three matches by the same 3-1 score.

#2 Ithaca: 23-11

Winners of four ECAC titles including the title in 2009, Ithaca leans on Joelle Goldstein, Rylie Bean, Kayla Gromen, and Molly Brown. 

Goldstein leads the Bombers with 355 kills (2.99 per set) and a .259 hitting percentage. Bean has recored 273 kills (3.41 per set), Gromen has 406 digs on the year and 744 assists (6.2 per set), and Brown has 272 assists (5.79 per set).

Bean and Goldstein were 1st team All-Empire 8 while Gromen was an honorable mention selection. 

#3 Alfred State: 25-9

The Lady Pioneers trio of Kay Pfleghardt, Lera Braun, and Jess Ramsey key the team's first ever trip to a ECAC tournament.

Pfleghardt, the program's first four-year player and first ever to record 1,000 kills, leads the team with 387 kills (3.55 per set). She also has 373 digs on the season. Braun has passed out 963 assists (8.52 per set) and has 236 digs and 131 kills. Ramsey leads the team with 530 digs (491 per set).

The Pioneers played in the USCAA Championships two weeks ago where they finished 4th. Pfleghardt (1st), Braun (2nd), and Ramsey (HM) were named USCAA All-Americans.

#4 Rutgers-Newark: 17-11

The Scarlet Raiders are led by a duo of All-NJAC players. Freshmen libero Sue Riley was named the NJAC defensive player of the year while junior middle blocker Sharee Gordon 2nd team honors.

Riley averages 5.33 digs per game and has also piled up 512 digs and 41 service aces. Gordon recorded 105 blocks on the season and added 257 kills (.309 hitting percentage).

Rutgers-Newark defeated #5 College of New Rochelle 3-0 in a 1st round math-up on Wednesday to earn their spot in Alfred.

Past Metro/Upstate Champions:

2013: Kean, 2012: NYU, 2011: Elmira, 2010: FDU-Florham, 2009: Ithaca

The Metro/Upstate Championship is one of four ECAC DIII Tournament being played this weekend. For more information about the ECAC visit: www.ecacsports.com or http://www.ecacsports.com/sports/wvball/Championships/DivisionIII/2014-15/vball_tournament_central