Volleyball Tops SFPA, 3-0

The Central Connecticut volleyball team clinched a berth in the Northeast Conference Tournament with a three set victory over St. Francis (PA) on Saturday.  The Blue Devils improved to 18-9 on the season and 9-4 in NEC play with the victory.  Juniors Blaike King, Emily Cochran and Jamie Rademacher all recorded 10 kills for the Blue Devils.

The Blue Devils captured the opening sets by wide margins, Central captured the first set 25-13 and the second 25-14.  Rademacher led the way early on, she totaled eight kills over the first two sets. She also contributed to three blocks in the second set.

With a two set advantage the Blue Devils fell behind in the third set.  Central fell behind by as many as eight points during the match and trailed 24-19, but a seven-point run gave the Blue Devils a 26-24 victory.

A pair of kills each by Rademacher and Cochran along with the blocking of Rademacher and senior Danielle Gasser pushed the Blue Devils to a 25-24 lead.  On the final serve of the match, King delivered an ace to give the Blue Devils a 26-24 victory.

Rademacher finished with a match-high .833 hitting percentage.  She posted 10 kills on 12 attacks with no errors.

Freshman and current NEC Co-Defender of the Week Brittany Schumacher recorded a team-high 11 digs and Gasser posted a match-high 35 assists.

As a team, the Blue Devils minimized mistakes throughout the match.  Central made only nine attack errors and one service error.

The victory clinches a berth into the NEC Tournament for the Blue Devils.  Central returns to action tomorrow for a 1 p.m. match with Robert Morris.  The Colonials entered play today in third place in the standings, one game ahead of the Blue Devils.