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FREDONIA, N.Y. – An automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament is at stake when six SUNYAC teams convene on the Fredonia State campus Thursday through Saturday.
Two first-round games Thursday, two semifinals Friday, and the championship match 2 p.m. Saturday will be played in the Dods Hall gymnasium.
Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students for each day. In addition, the matches will be webcast via Ustream.com free of charge. Visits www.fredoniabluedevils.com for more information.
On Thursday, defending SUNYAC champ New Paltz (28-10) meets Buffalo State (15-18) at 2 p.m. The 5 p.m. match pits Geneseo (14-21) against Oneonta (18-17).
The two winners advance to the semifinals Friday. Fredonia State (24-12) meets the New Paltz-Buffalo State winner at 3 p.m., while Cortland (31-7) goes up against the Geneseo-Oneonta winner at 6 p.m.
The Blue Devils won the right to host the conference tournament by virtue of their 8-0 record in SUNYAC West Pool play. It marked the fourth straight year they've been the No. 1 seed in the West Division.
“We're excited to be at home,” Blue Devil head coach Geoff Braun said. “It will make some of these teams have to, hopefully,come into a loud environment that will be difficult for them to play in.”
The Blue Devils won their first SUNYAC championship in 2008 as the home team. New Paltz was the host team and tournament champ in 2009.
Braun's team enters the SUNYAC tournament as healthy as its been in weeks.Seven of the 13 Blue Devils have missed matches because of injuries. Most – if not all – of them should be available this weekend.
“We've never entered a post-season,” Braun said, “with an entire roster that contributed as significantly as this one has. (The injury bug) has turned us into a versatile and experienced team. We have run a lot of different lineups.”
The tournament features three regionally ranked teams and four players among national statistical category leaders.
Cortland is No. 3 in the New York Region, New Paltz is No. 5, and Fredonia State is No. 8. New rankings will be released Wednesday afternoon.
Among NCAA Division III statistical leaders, Cortland junior outside hitter Ashley Coyle (Mount Hope/Minisink Valley) is 30th in both total kills and points per sent; Fredonia State senior middle blocker Kaitlin Erdmann (Randolph) is 35th in hitting percentage, just ahead of New Paltz senior hitter Dana Kindelmann (Nesconset/Sachem North) at 36th; and Geneseo right side Krista Frieling (East Amherst/Williamsville North) is 43rd in kills per set.
