NEW HAVEN, CT (November 10, 2009) - The top two seeds in the North and South Divisions won their matches tonight to advance to the semi-finals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Volleyball Tournament. Caldwell College and Dominican College won from the North Division, while Georgian Court University and Philadelphia University moved on in the South Division.

Georgian Court, the top overall seed in the tournament, will face Dominican in the first semi-final match on Friday at 6:00 pm. Caldwell and Philadelphia will follow at 8:00 pm. The semi-final and championship rounds will be hosted by Georgian Court.

Georgian Court moved one step closer to its fourth consecutive conference championship as the Lions defeated the No. 4 University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 26-24). GCU (25-9) has now won 71 straight conference matches. Senior Janelle Murdock paced the Lions' offense with a team-high nine kills to go along six digs and four blocks. Classmate Joann Zayas collected five kills and seven digs. Seniors Lisamary Figueroa and Ana Cruz led all players with 27 assists and 17 digs, respectively.

USP junior Cady Rich led the Devils (10-16) with nine kills and three solo blocks. Junior Sarah Hickman led a balanced defensive attack for USP with seven digs and 23 assists. The Devils' entire lineup had at least one dig each.  

The North's top seed, Caldwell, earned its 10th win in a row by holding off Nyack College, 3-1. Nyack, the No. 4 seed in the North, started out on fire, recording 13 kills and a .343 hitting percentage to stun Caldwell in the first set, 25-16. The second set was close until the Cougars broke a 10-10 tie by scoring nine of the next 10 points en route to a 25-14 victory. The third set was all Caldwell in a 25-8 rout.

The score in the fourth set remained tight from start to finish, with neither team leading by more than two points. With the score knotted at 25-25, the match ended in Caldwell's favor after two consecutive attack errors by Nyack. Freshman Susan McDonough finished with a team-best 14 kills to go with 12 digs and four service aces, while junior Justine Pecora had nine kills and a .304 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Lauren Roth tallied 35 assists, nine digs and five kills. Nyack finishes the season 10-13, while Caldwell improves to 21-11 overall.

Philadelphia, the No. 2 seed in the South, got past No. 3 Holy Family University, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22 and 30-28). The Lady Rams got a lift offensively from senior outside-hitter Celena Rendon, who had 10 kills, 14 digs and a block on the night.  Fellow senior Nicole Berkstresser added nine kills and two blocks, while freshman Danielle Carney registered seven kills and a block.  PhilaU senior middle-hitter Molly Malone tallied five blocks.  Holy Family (14-22) was led by sophomore Katie Hornback's 15 kills and seven digs.

Defensively for PhilaU, senior Natalie Amodei contributed 18 digs and three service aces, while sophomore setter Adrienne Stigura tallied a team-high 19 sets and eight digs.

The North No. 2 team, Dominican, defeated the third seeded Eagles of Post University 3-1, (25-13, 25-22, 25-27, 25-22). The Lady Chargers jumped out to an 11-4 lead and won the first set, 25-13. Tied at 20 in set two, Dominican put together a 4-0 run to go up 24-20.  A 2-0 spurt by the Eagles cut the deficit to 24-22 but a big kill from junior Kerianne Dudley lifted the Lady Chargers to a 25-22 set win. The third set was a close battle as neither team led by more than three points. Tied at 25, the Eagles took advantage of two DC errors for a 27-25 set win.

Dominican jumped to a 10-5 lead in the fourth set and led 15-10 when the Eagles went on a 5-2 run to cut the lead to 17-15. The lead remained two (24-22) when freshman Michelle Fiorvanti closed out the set and the match with a kill for the 25-22 victory.        

Sophomore Elizabeth Knight led the Eagles with 12 kills, while Teresea Hodges added 11 kills.  Setter Taylor Doyle had a team leading 28 assists.

Fiorvanti led the Lady Chargers with 12 kills, while Dudley finished with nine kills.  Whitney Ranger and fellow freshmen Kristen Loney and Courtney Heard all tallied eight kills in the victory, while Ranger added a match leading 40 assists. 

2009 CACC Volleyball Tournament
Quarter-finals - Tuesday, Nov. 10
N#1 Caldwell 3, N#4 Nyack 1
N#2 Dominican 3, N#3 Post 1
S#1 Georgian Court 3, S#4 USP 0
S#2 Philadelphia 3, S#3 Holy Family 0

Semi-Finals - Friday, Nov. 13 at Georgian Court
Georgian Court vs. Dominican - 6:00 pm
Caldwell vs. Philadelphia 8:00 pm

Championship - Saturday, Nov. 14 at Georgian Court
1:00 pm