Central Connecticut will open play in the 2019 Northeast Conference Championship on Friday, November 22, against top-seeded Robert Morris in Moon Township, PA. The Colonials will host the league tournament by virtue of winning the regular season championship. The fourth-seeded Blue Devils will play the Colonials to open the weekend at 3:30 p.m. The tournament field is rounded out by second-seeded Sacred Heart and third-seeded LIU.
#4 CCSU (14-14, 10-6 NEC) at #1 ROBERT MORRIS (25-4, 15-1 NEC) | FRIDAY, NOV. 22 | 3:30 PM
AT NORTH ATHLETIC COMPLEX | MOON TOWNSHIP, PA
LIVE STATS | VIDEO (NEC FRONT ROW) | VIDEO (ESPN3)
Second-seeded Sacred Heart will face third-seeded LIU at 6:00 p.m. in the second semifinal. Every match of the NEC championship will be available to stream online, for free, at NECFrontRow.com and will also be available on ESPN3. Join the conversation on Twitter by following @NECwvolleyball or using the hashtag #NECVB.
CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
Back In The Postseason
CCSU is in the postseason for the fourth straight season, after going 10-6 in the NEC. The Blue Devils clinched their spot on the final weekend after defeating Bryant and having Sacred Heart down the Bulldogs on the final day.
Kaprelyan A "CLASS" Act
Madelyn Kaprelyan was one of the 30 national candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible student-athletes must be a senior and have achievements in the areas of: community, classroom, character and competition
Kaprelyan Does It All
Madelyn Kaprelyan, the 2018 NEC Player of the Year, has posted 6 triple-doubles this season, which ranks 3rd nationally. She has added 7 double-doubles. As a junior she had 5 triple-doubles and 9 double-doubles.
Defensive Devils
Central comes into the weekend ranked third in the NEC, holding opponents to a .185 hitting percentage. CCSU is also second in blocks (1.99/set) and second in digs (16.14/set). Junior
Ashlyn Eisenga leads the NEC with 4.72 digs/set in all matches, while
Gala Galabova (#3, 1.00/s) and
Isabelle Roufs (#7, 0.9/s) are among the leaders in blocks.
CCSU Excels Academically
Central Connecticut was recognized with the AVCA Team Academic Award for 2018-19. It was the 13th straight season the Blue Devils have had at least a 3.30 GPA as a team, the sixth longest active streak in the NCAA.
