Pioneers Win AMCC Championship

The Alfred State Pioneer Volleyball team won the AMCC Conference Championship 3-0 over rival Penn.- St. Behrend. This is the first team from Alfred State to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Last season, the Pioneers fell to Penn.- St. Behrend in the AMCC championship. Today, the Alfred State team got their revenge in a three-set victory.

Alfred State has been dominant all season, dropping only six sets and going a perfect 9-0 in conference play. Inside Orvis gymnasium they went undefeated, going 13-0 this year and taking full advantage of the loud Alfred State crowds. Alfred State's stellar play was rewarded as they become the first team to earn an automatic NCAA bid in Alfred State College Athletics history.

After defeating Penn.- St. Altoona in a thrilling five set match in yesterday's semifinal, the Pioneers came back today and were firing on all cylinders jumping out to a 16-8 lead in the first set. The Lions fought back and scored eight straight points to tie the first set up at 16. Alfred State called a timeout, putting a halt to the Behrend run. The set continued to go back-and-forth before the Pioneers squeaked away with the 25-23 win.

The second set was neck-and-neck, with neither team gaining more than a two-point lead until the set was tied at 18. With the score all square, Alfred State scored three straight points and took the lead 21-18. The Pioneers didn't look back, winning the set 25-19.

The final set of the conference tournament was also close throughout. At 17-16 with the Pioneers ahead, Alfred State strung a few points together to take the lead 22-17. The match ended 25-21 on a Karleigh Haines (Jamestown, NY / Jamestown) kill, officially crowning the Pioneers AMCC Champions. 

Here is the link to the video of Alfred State's championship point: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA-6tfa-dKY

The Alfred State Pioneers were led by Keturah Gregory (Laurel, MD / High Point) and Karleigh Haines who both had double-digit kills. Gregory led the way with 17 kills and 3 blocks. Haines had 15 kills of her own on the match. Nayomie Ferrer Santiago (San Juan, PR / Eastridge) tallied 36 assists and 10 digs and Adeline Milligan (Pavilion, NY / Pavilion) led the team in digs with 11.

The Pioneers will find out where they head for the NCAA tournament tomorrow at 1 p.m. on the NCAA selection show on NCAA.com.