UB Volleyball Advances To ECC Championship Final With Four-Set Triumph Over Mercy

Amherst, N.Y.-The University of Bridgeport women's volleyball team picked up its tenth win in its last 11 outings on Friday night, as the second-seeded Purple Knights topped the third-seeded Mercy College Mavericks in four sets, 25-16, 25-27, 25-23, 25-22, in the semifinals of the 2021 East Coast Conference Championship Tournament being hosted by Daemen College.  UB will face the top-seeded and host Wildcats, who swept Molloy in Friday's first semifinal, in tomorrow's ECC Championship Final at 3:00 p.m.  Saturday's winner receives an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament which will begin on December 2.

Friday's victory gives Bridgeport an overall season mark of 18-9, and Mercy closes out 2021 with a record of 13-15.

The Purple Knights used a balanced offensive attack on Friday, as four players reached double-digit kills led by 2021 ECC Rookie of the Year, freshman Paola Hernandez (Bayamon, P.R.) who slammed a match-high 18 kills, plus she finished with a double-double notching 11 digs.

Senior Emily Burford (Albuquerque, N.M.) slammed 15 kills with an impressive .387 attack percentage on the night.  With those 15 kills, Burford has surpassed the 1,000 career kills plateau, as she enters Saturday's ECC Final with 1,006.  Emily also had a double-double on Friday with 17 digs.

Freshman Melanie Smith (Ft. Collins, Colo.) added 12 kills for UB, and led her team on defense with a match-best 19 digs.

Senior Amanda Keller (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) completed the Bridgeport quartet in double-figure kills with 10, as she hit .333 in the win.  She also had a solid all-around match leading the UB defense at the net with seven blocks, and Amanda also served up four aces.

Bridgeport freshman and ECC Setter of the Year Jaden Drollinger (Queens Creek, Az.) directed the balanced UB offensive attack dishing out 48 assists.

Graduate student Amanda Hennemann (Nova Petropolis, Brazil) also reached double-digit digs with 15 on the Purple Knights' backline.

Mercy's Tynesha Adams led three Mavericks in double-figure kills with 13. 

Larissa Schneid contributed a double-double for Mercy with 12 kills and 10 digs, as did setter Yarianne Gonzalez with 42 assists and a team-leading 17 digs.

PHOTO COURSTESY OF GEOFF SCHNEIDER