JWU Women's Volleyball Prepares for Amherst In NCAA Tournament First Round
Returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010, JWU will face Amherst at 5:30 p.m. on Friday in the first round, hosted by MIT.
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Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010, the Johnson & Wales University volleyball team will face a familiar opponent in the first round. The Wildcats have drawn Amherst College at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the first round, hosted by MIT.
The Wildcats and Purple & White met earlier in the season at the Wildcat Invitational with Amherst taking the match 3-1. Johnson & Wales comes into the match with a 23-7 record while AC is 22-4 on the year.
"We played them the second weekend of the season and we've certainly improved as a team so I expect them to have improved as well," JWU head coach Nancy Somera said. "They're strong offensively, but we have some weapons too so I think it will be a great match-up."
JWU will try to make history this Friday. The Wildcats have a 0-6 record in the NCAA Tournament and are 0-10 lifetime against Amherst. Johnson & Wales last NCAA Tournament appearance was a 3-2 loss to Stevens in 2010.
Riding a six-match winning streak going into the tourney, Johnson & Wales is getting hot at the right time. The Wildcats won a 3-2 decision at top-seeded Rivier on Saturday to claim the GNAC title and the league's automatic bid.
'Anytime half of your lineup is made up of freshmen it takes a while for that synergy to develop," Somera added. "We've improved in all phases of the game and they're coming together as a team at the right time."
The freshmen tandem of Emily Kalmink (Byron City, Mich.) and Nastasia Kapustin (West Nyack, NY) has come on strong at the end of the season. Kalmink leads the team at 3.03 kills per set while Kapustin is close behind at 3.00 kps. Kalmink was named GNAC Tournament MVP while Kapustin was on the All-Tournament team along with senior setter Kellen Tensen (New Canaan, Conn.).
The winner of the Johnson & Wales/Amherst match will take on the winner of MIT and Regis in the second round. The other two first round matches in the region are Babson vs. Roger Williams and Bowdoin against UMass Boston.