NCAA Preview: Volleyball Opens Sixth NCAA Appearance with First Round Contest Friday

Posted: Nov 11, 2021

HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's volleyball program marks its sixth appearance in the NCAA tournament with a trip to Cambridge, Mass. and the Cambridge Regional at MIT, opening play on Friday with an NCAA First Round contest with the Beacons of UMass Boston. The Fords are one of eight teams to play in the Cambridge regional this weekend, also joining the Engineers of MIT, Eastern Nazarene, Susquehanna, Maine Maritime, Bowdoin, and Johnson and Wales (Providence).

TICKETS/SPECTATOR PROTOCOLS
Single Session Tickets: Adult $6 | Senior Citizen: $4 | Student: $4 | Children (ages 3-12): $3 | Children (under 2 years): Free
All-Session Tickets: Adult $12 | Senior Citizen: $10 | Student: $10 | Children (ages 3-12): $7 | Children (under 2 years): Free
Tickets are avaliable at the gate inside Rockwell Cage.
Spectator Policy: All spectators must be masked – regardless of vaccination status.

TIM TICKETS EVENT CHECK-IN
For spectators that are coming from outside of the MIT campus to attend a DAPER athletics event, MIT asks that you utilize the Tim Ticket system for admission to the events. Spectators can also complete the Tim Ticket check-in at the event the day of as well.

NCAA TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Haverford fans can find all the pertinent information about the regional, including game times, ticketing information, video streaming, and live stat links all weekend long via the MIT Regional Central Page.

HOW TO FOLLOW
MIT will be providing live video broadcasts throughout the weekend, with commentary for each contest. Live video links as well as live stats for the entire weekend will also be available via the tournament central page and the links on HaverfordAthletics.com

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Haverford is making its sixth overall appearance in the NCAA tournament (2006-09, 2014) and first since the 2014 season. The Fords have reached the Regional Final on one occasion, during the 2007 season. The Fords have never faced the teams in the Cambridge regional in postseason action.

ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
The Fords have faced off with UMass-Boston two times in program history, as Haverford is 2-0 in those meetings. Haverford was a part of the Beacon Invite in October of 2013, with the Fords prevailing over the hosts in five. The next season, Haverford earned a 3-0 sweep inside Gooding '84 Arena on the first day of the 2014 Haverford Invitational. Haverford is 2-1 against second round opponent MIT, with the last meeting in 2016, a five-set win for the Engineers at the Haverford Invitational. The Fords have never faced Eastern Nazarene.

NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Standout first year libero Juliet Young is currently 19th in the nation in total digs (565), while ranking 22nd in digs per set (5.59). Both of those tallies rank as tops in the Centennial Conference. Emerging as a force during the 2021-22 season, the Fords blocking effort posted the 54th-best blocks per set mark (1.9) in the nation. Taylor Jones was a leading blocker nationally, posting 101 blocks, good for 29th in the nation, and 1.01 blocks per set, good for 39th. Dina Kosyagin was also well represented with top 50 marks in total kills (386, 34th) and kills per set (44, 3.82) while the passing prowess of Sara Hunsberger was notable, with her 9.52 assists per set coming in as the 37th-best mark in Division III.

FORDS WELL REPRESENTED ON AVCA ALL-REGION TEAM
Haverford first year libero Juliet Young was named to the AVCA Division III All-Region V team, the organization announced in a release on Thursday afternoon. In addition, senior outside hitter Dina Kosyagin was named an honorable mention. The 2021 season represents the first time since 2009 that Haverford has had multiple players recognized in an All-Region release by the AVCA as Rebecca Salvo, Rachel Salvo, and Kate Comey were all first-teamers that season.

CENTENNIAL AWARDS ROLL IN FOR HAVERFORD
Juliet Young was named the Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year, becoming Haverford's first-ever recipient of that award. In addition, Drew Hargrave was named the Centennial Conference's Coach of the Year while Young joined senior Dina Kosyagin in earning first-team All-CC honors. Senior Sara Hunsberger was named to second-team honors while first year Taylor Jones picked up honorable mention recognition. Senior Elena Filograna also earned recognition on the CC All-Sportsmanship team in her final campaign. The Fords placed four members on the All-Conference team for the first time in program history and had two first team honorees for the first time since the 2016 season.

IN DREW WE TRUST
Head Coach Drew Hargrave earned the annual CC Coach of the Year Award, becoming the first leader of the Haverford program to earn that award since Amy Bergin in 2008. Hargrave guided the Fords to a 23-5 record overall, and a 9-1 conference mark. The squad posted its best record since the 2009 campaign, a season in which the Fords went 31-4 en route to the regional semifinals. Haverford excelled against regionally ranked competition, going 7-4 in those matches.

DINA IS DIVINE ON SENIOR DAY
Kosyagin earned the final Centennial Conference Player of the Week honors as she helped Haverford clinch the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Centennial Conference postseason with 3-0 wins over Ursinus and Swarthmore during the last week of the regular season. The senior outside hitter averaged 4.83 kills per set at .288% clip, contributing 5.3 points per set for the Fords. She opened the week with eight kills in a sweep of Ursinus, and followed that up by tying the Haverford program record for kills in a three-set match with 21 over rival Swarthmore. She committed just three errors in that match, tallying four kills in the do-or-die extra points of the third set and securing that marathon third set, which ended 32-30, with a service ace.

FORDS IN THE REGIONAL RANKINGS
Haverford was ranked fourth in the final release of the NCAA Division V Regional Rankings, behind fellow Cambridge Regional team Susquehanna (These NCAA regional rankings ultimately were a main criteria for Haverford's at-large selection of at-large bids for the NCAA Tournament. The rankings marked the fourth consecutive week the Fords have been included in the regional release. Haverford has impressed against regionally ranked opponents, going 7-4 against teams listed in their respective region's rankings.

SCOUTING THE BEACONS
UMass-Boston enters the NCAA tournament with the Little East (LEC) championship trophy in its possession. The squad is making its second consecutive and 10th overall appearance at the NCAA tournament, and will be staying close to home with just a short jaunt across the city required. Marcelle Tiscareno, an AVCA All-Region pick, averages 2.71 kills per set and has paced her squad with a .347 hitting percentage. Carsen Komminsk is also a standout for the Beacons with nearly nine assists per set and 49 service aces on the season. Emilia Czapiewska (3.12 kills per set) and Toni Guerra (46 service aces) also figure to be players to watch. In total, the squad has excelled in its serving game with the 12th-best service aces per set mark (3.0) in the nation and the 16th most total service aces (279) in Division III.

FOLLOW THE FORDS
Haverford fans wishing to follow Haverford throughout postseason action should bookmark the Haverford Athletics website and be sure to follow @HCFords_Sports on Twitter and @HCFordsSports on Instagram.