EAST STROUDSBURG – The East Stroudsburg University volleyball team will make its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance on Thursday as the No. 7 seed in the Atlantic Regional this week at Wheeling, W.Va.
This will be the third NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and the Warriors will battle No. 2 seed and PSAC foe Gannon at 2:30 p.m. from the Alma Grace McDonough Center.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
- The Warriors advanced to their second straight NCAA Tournament after falling to PSAC Champion Clarion in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
- Today, senior setter Ali Finch was named to D2CCA All-Atlantic Region First Team. Finch was the PSAC East Athlete of the Year, an All-PSAC East First team selection, a three-time PSAC Athlete of the Week and a member of the NCAA Division II CoSIDA All-District 2 Team
- First-year head coach Tricia Melfy was honored as the PSAC East Coach of the Year after guiding the Warriors to 17-9 (12-2 PSAC) during the regular season
- Seniors Emily Meredith and Kenzie Guimont were both selected to the All-PSAC East Second Team
- The Warriors are second in the PSAC in digs per set (19.01) and 11th among Division II programs
- Finch has a team-high 198 kills, 828 assists, five triple doubles and is second on the team in digs (322) and blocks (83.0). The senior’s five triple doubles ranks fifth nationally and among PSAC ranks, Finch is 10th in assists per set and total assists.
- Meredith leads ESU with 532 digs on the season and the 1,681 in her career are the third most in program history. Meredith is sixth in PSAC in total digs and digs per set (5.10)
- Guimont paces the Warriors with 89 blocks and is third on the team in kills (181)
- Kaylee LoPresto is second on the team in kills (183) and third in digs (231)
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
- Gannon will be making its 12th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 18th in program history
- The Golden Knights rank in the top 30 in NCAA Division II in the following categories: aces per set, digs per set, opponent hitting percentage, total digs and total aces
- Gannon had players earning All-PSAC West accolades including Lauren Sampson, who was voted the 2021 PSAC West Athlete of the Year. She was joined on the first team by Ashley McClung, while Ashley Beyers and Maggie Greenfield were accorded second team honors.
- Gannon won a share of the PSAC West Regular Season Championship and advanced to the PSAC Tournament Championship before falling to Clarion
- Matt Darling is in his 15th season as the head coach of the Gannon volleyball program. Darling is the winningest coach in program history with a 348-135 career mark.
SERIES HISTORY
Gannon holds the edge in the all-time series, 16-3, and was victorious in four set when the teams last met on Oct. 4, 2019. The Golden Knights have won the last two meetings and the Warriors last win in the series came on Sept. 14, 2018.
