The Central Connecticut volleyball team opens the 2018 Northeast Conference Championship on Friday, Nov. 16, against Bryant in the semifinals. The championship is being hosted at LIU Brooklyn, the regular season champions. The third-seeded Blue Devils will play the second-seeded Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. The top-seeded Blackbirds will host fourth-seeded Sacred Heart in the first match Friday afternoon.
#3 CCSU (13-12, 10-4 NEC) vs. #2 BRYANT (20-12, 10-4 NEC) | FRIDAY, NOV. 16 | 6:00 PM
AT LIU BROOKLYN | BROOKLYN, NY
LIVE STATS | VIDEO
Top-seeded LIU Brooklyn will face fourth-seeded Sacred Heart at 3:30 p.m. to open play at the tournament. Every match of the NEC championship will be available to stream online, for free, at NECFrontRow.com. Join the conversation on Twitter by following @NECwvolleyball or using the hashtag #NECVB.
CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
BACK IN THE POSTSEASON
CCSU returns to the postseason for the third straight season, after posting a 10-4 NEC record. The Blue Devils clinched a spot in the postseason in the next-to-last weekend. Central lost to LIU in last year's title match.
KAPRELYAN A TRIPLE THREAT
Madelyn Kaprelyan has emerged as a junior, posting four triple-doubles, which ranks fourth in the NCAA. She ranks among the NEC leaders in hitting percentage (4th, .291) and kills (5th, 3.22). Kaprelyan has also posted eight double-doubles on the year.
GALABOVA TOPS NEC CHARTS
Junior
Gala Galabova is having a strong campaign and anchors the CCSU defense at the net. She leads the league with 1.26 blocks/set. The Blue Devils lead the league at 2.53 blocks/set and rank 42nd nationally. Galabova ranks 44th in the NCAA and has a season-high eight blocks in a match twice.
HENDERSON ACES IT
Sophomore
Emma Henderson leads the Blue Devils with 42 service aces on the season (0.48 sa/s). She ranks 2nd in the Northeast Conference and is 17th nationally. She has twice had five aces in a match (Saint Francis U, LIU Brooklyn).
SAGNELLI REACHES A MILESTONE
Head coach Linda Sagnelli reached a milestone earlier this season when she won her 300th career game at Central. Already the program's winningest coach, she achieved the mark with a win at St. Francis Brooklyn on Sept. 28. She has 433 career wins in her stops at Iona and CCSU.
