Photo from Salisbury Athletics
Julie Altieri: For the fourth straight year, the Salisbury Sea Gulls have advanced to the Division III NCAA Tournament. Salisbury earned an at-large bid to the field of 64 when the field was unveiled on Monday afternoon. Salisbury will travel to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge for its opening round game against Colorado College on Thursday afternoon. The winner will face either Trinity (Texas) or Manhattanville in the second round. Last weekend, Christopher Newport defeated Salisbury 3-0 in the championship game of the Coast-to-Coast Conference Tournament in Santa Cruz, CA. Altieri had 16 assists to put her past 1,000 for the season. Altieri becomes the fourth setter in school history with multiple 1,000-assist seasons. Against the Captains, Altieri finished with five digs. In the semifinals, Salisbury defeated Mary Washington 3-0 (25-15, 25-6, 25-11). Altieri finished with 26 assists and six digs.
Grace Young: Greensboro College had a disappointing end to a record-setting season. Southern Virginia defeated the Pride 3-0 in the USA South Conference Tournament championship game at Hanes Gymnasium. It ended Greensboro’s 23-game winning streak. Young finished with six digs and three aces. Greensboro was snubbed for an at-large spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament despite holding an overall record of 28-3. In the semifinals, Greensboro defeated Meredith College 3-0 in Raleigh. Young registered 14 digs and four aces. Young averaged 2.59 digs per set this year and was second on the team with 264 overall.
Melissa Benkowitz: The former Cedar Ridge outside hitter was named honorable mention All-Centennial Conference for Franklin & Marshall University. Benkowitz averaged 3.72 points per set, the best on the team. She also was sixth in the Centennial Conference with 3.26 kills per set. Franklin & Marshall received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. They will face the Williams Ephs out of Williamston, Massachusetts on Thursday. In the Centennial Conference Tournament, #9 Johns Hopkins defeated F&M 3-1 in the championship match in Baltimore on Sunday. Benkowitz finished with 17 kills, 16 digs and two aces. In the semifinals against Haverford, Benkowitz led the Diplomats with 20 kills in a 3-1 Franklin & Marshall victory. The Diplomats won on scores of 17-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-22.
Abbi Silinski: Also playing for Franklin & Marshall, Silinksi had nine digs against Johns Hopkins. A freshman, Silinski led the team with 18 digs and a whopping seven aces in the win over Haverford in the semifinals. Franklin & Marshall is 22-6 going into the NCAA Tournament.
Cameron Lloyd: Bucknell enters the Patriot League Tournament on a five-game winning streak after beating Army 3-0 at Davis Gymnasium is Lewisburg, PA on Saturday. Lloyd shared with Bri Frazilus with the team lead with 12 digs. The Patriot League semifinals are set for Saturday.
Cameron Lanier: The Elon Phoenix ended its season with a loss to the College of Charleston at TD Arena on Sunday. The Cougars defeated the Phoenix 3-1 on scores of 25-21, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17. Lanier led Elon with nine kills and tied for the team lead with three blocks. On Saturday, Charleston defeated Elon 3-1 (25-14, 20-25, 25-21, 25-16). Lanier had four kills and three digs. This season, Lanier was second on the team with 240 points. She was second on the squad with 211 kills, just six behind the leader, Simrin Carlsen. She was first on the team with 2.29 kills per set. Elon ended the year 7-20 overall, 5-11 in the Coastal Athletic Association.
Graylinn Serge: UNC Greensboro ended the regular season with a sweep of Wofford at Bedford Arena on Saturday. Serge finished with two digs. On Thursday, East Tennessee State defeated UNCG 3-2 at Brooks Gymnasium (20-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-14, 15-5) in Johnson City, TN. Serge came away with 13 digs. The Spartans finish the regular season with 16-11 overall, 9-7 in the Southern Conference. UNCG will face Chattanooga in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament on Friday at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville.
Anaya Carter: UNC Pembroke has advanced to the championship match of the Conference Carolinas Tournament. The Braves defeated 7th-seeded Shorter 3-1 in the semifinals at Lumber Guaranty Bank Court in Pembroke on Sunday (25-17, 25-18, 15-25, 25-18). Carter finished with eleven digs. UNCP will face #3 seeded Emmanuel at the Student Center Complex in Bristol, TN on Friday.
Allie Wilkerson: The Division III Averett Cougars ended the season with a loss to Salem on November 8 at the Athletics Complex in Winston-Salem. Wilkerson tied for the team lead with seven kills. Averett ends the year 6-19 overall, 2-9 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
