Saints to Play Washington in NCAA First Round in Fort Collins, Colo.
The Siena volleyball team will travel 1800 miles to play its first NCAA match in a decade later this week. The Saints learned Sunday that their first round opponent will be the University of Washington. The match will take place on the campus of Colorado Sate University in Fort Collins, Colo. on Friday night at 5 p.m. local (mountain) time.
Siena earned an automatic bid into the Field of 64, which was released Sunday afternoon on ESPN News, by virtue of its MAAC Tournament Championship last weekend. The Saints have a 20-11 record and have won nine straight matches entering the Championships. The program's only other NCAA appearance came in 1995 when the Saints lost at Georgia Tech in the First Round.
Washington is no easy assignment. The Huskies are the third national seed, and the top seed in the College Station, Texas Regional. Washington won the Pac 10 Championship and enters the NCAA's with a 26-1 overall record. The team's only loss came in five games to Pac-10 rival UCLA. The Huskies shutout every other ranked opponent they played this season including UCLA at home.
"We are so excited to be in the Tournament and have this great opportunity," senior captain Liz Hubbard said after watching the selections with her teammates in the West Room of Serra Hall. "We will approach this match as we would any other and give everything we have."
Siena has overcome long odds all season. The Saints were picked ninth in the MAAC preseason coaches' poll, before its improbable run to the Championships. The Saints are led by sophomore Nadiege Honore who is on pace to break the school's single-season kills per game mark, averaging 4.01 kills per game. Freshman April London was named MAAC Rookie of the Year and MAAC co-Setter of the Year after a sensational campaign in which she garnered conference Rookie of the Week honors eight times. Junior Christie Gustafson was named MAAC Tournament MVP. She has averaged 3.47 kills per game this season.
Washington is led by Sanja Tomasevic, a 6-1 senior from Serbia & Montenego, who has averaged 4.52 kills per game this season and was named National Player of the Week earlier this year. Setter Courtney Thompson has averaged nearly 15 assists per game and sophomore Christal Morrison has averaged 4.04 kills per game. The Huskies ranked sixth in the nation in attendance this season, averaging over 2,600 fans per home match.
Colorado State will play Colorado in the other match at 7 p.m.