SWARTHMORE, Pa. --- The Moravian College women's volleyball team posted a 3-0 sweep of Neumann University in the opening round of the 2016 ECAC Division III Championship Tournament Wednesday at Swarthmore College.
The Greyhounds, who are 19-14 overall on the year, advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday, November 12 against Swarthmore, which defeated Rutgers-Newark in the other Region 2 First Round match. Moravian is the second seed in Region 2 while Neumann is the third seed while Swarthmore is the region's top seed.
The ECAC changed the format of the tournament this year with one overall tournament with region-based opening rounds. After Wednesday's eight first round matches, the eight remaining teams in the 16-team field will head to a single site at Lebanon Valley College for the quarterfinals on Saturday, November 12 at Lebanon Valley College and the semifinals and championship on Sunday, November 13.
In the match versus Neumann Wednesday, the Blue and Grey opened up a quick 4-1 lead in the first set before the Knights rallied back for a 6-5 advantage. With the game tied at 7-7, Moravian freshman outside hitter Brooke Kusmider served up six straight points as the Greyhounds built a 14-7 lead on the way to a 25-18 win in the opening set. The Hounds jumped out to another 4-1 lead in the second set before Neumann closed within 8-6. Once again it was Kusmider who served four straight points as Moravian took control of the set before winning 25-14 for a 2-0 lead.
The third set would start with the teams going back-and-forth early with the score tied at 4-4. Junior defensive specialist Ashton Galasso had the service run in the third game with five straight points as the Greyhounds opened a 12-5 advantage before completing the sweep with a 25-11 win the set.
Sophomore middle blocker Erin Tiger led Moravian with 11 kills while junior outside hitter Mary Zacher added nine kills, eight digs and a pair of service aces. Kusmider finished the match with seven kills, five digs and two service aces while senior right side hitter Jaclyn Smith had five kills, three blocks and two digs.
Freshman setter Victoria Kauffman led the Greyhounds' offense with 32 assists to go along with eight digs, three blocks and a pair of kills while junior libero Jean Markovic had a team-high 22 digs. Senior middle blocker Taylor Kornmann had a match-high six blocks to go with two kills while freshman defensive specialist Alexis Szaro had five digs and freshman outside hitter Hailee Yoder had two kills.
The Greyhounds will play in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Tournament on Saturday, November 12 against Swarthmore College at Lebanon Valley College at 11:00 a.m. as the squad looks for its 20th win of the season. Moravian has nineteen 20-win seasons and last reached the plateau in 2012.
