MILWAUKEE – The Mount Mary University volleyball team will play host to the inaugural Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship this week, welcoming six league opponents to MMU's Bloechl Center Thursday & Friday, November 5 & 6.
GAME DAY PROGRAM | MMU SCHEDULE PAGE | C2C TOURNAMENT HUB
About the Blue Angels
Mount Mary (7-23 overall) enters the C2C Tournament looking to play the role of home spoiler, as with a Massey Rating of 373, claimed the #6-seed among the six teams participating.
The Blue Angels have experienced several marked firsts this season, including program-first wins over Rockford and Maranatha Baptist, and the snapping of a 13-match losing streak to heated crosstown rival Alverno. However MMU hopes to find its stride again after missing some key pieces to its lineup this past weekend in four matches of sweeps at the Warrior Invite at Wisconsin Lutheran.
MMU ranks sixth in the conference with 9.10 kills per set, led by the outside-hitting tandem of sophomore Brianna Ecker (Fond du Lac, Wis./Stockbridge) and junior Aislinn Strusz (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora). Ecker's 2.41 kills per set ranks 10th among individual, while Strusz's 2.21 kills per set is 15th overall. Freshman Emma White (Scottsdale, Ariz./Saguaro) has doled out 7.14 assist per set, for third-best in the C2C this season, but the Blue Angels are hitting an even .100 as a team—ranking seventh in the league.
Defensively, MMU ranks fifth in the C2C with 14.88 digs per set. Ecker currently leads active Blue Angels with 3.01 digs per set, edging junior Jacklyn Mozdzen's (Wautoma, Wis./Wautoma) 2.87 digs per set tally. Both Blue Angels rank among the top 13 C2C individuals in that category.
About the Tournament Field
Top-seeded UC Santa Cruz (18-2) enters the weekend as the likely tournament favorite, with a Massey Rating of 11 and a No. 18 ranking in the latest AVCA Division III Coaches Poll... Boasting arguably the best collegiate mascot ever, the Banana Slugs bring a high-powered offense and stingy defense to this C2C field. UCSC is hitting .274 as a team—more than 70 percentage points better than anyone else—and its 13.17 kills per set and 12.07 assists per set are also tops in the league... Two Slugs in Claire Okerlund (Fullerton, Calif./Sunny Hills) and Samantha Taylor (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Los Osos) rank among the top five in kills per set, while Giovanna Martins (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount) ranks fourth in the league with 3.96 digs per set.
Christopher Newport (20-9) retained the #2-seed, despite a surprise loss to Salisbury at its home quad last Friday. With a Massey Rating of 52, the Captains are hoping to make it 14 straight NCAA Tournament berths by claiming the conference crown in Milwaukee… CNU ranks among the top two in several offensive categories including kills (second with 12.57) and assists (second with 11.43). Maddie Carter (Warrenton, Pa./Fauquier) leads the league with 349 kills—70 more than anyone else—and 3.26 kills per set… Noelle Starr (Virgina Beach, Va./Princess Anne) ranks second in the C2C with 4.14 digs per set, yet the Captains rank seventh among conference foes with 14.08 digs per set.
Mary Washington (18-11), with a Massey Rating of 86, eked out the #3-seed this weekend and will face the tournament hosts in the quarterfinal round. Experience shouldn't be an issue as only MMU has played more matches this season… Balance on both sides of the ball has been key for the Eagles with four starters averaging two kills per set. Additionally, a league-best team tally of 16.56 digs per set includes three Eagles recording at least 3.22 saves apiece… A big reason for that balance has been the setting tandem of Makenna Santinga (Madison, Va./Madison County) and Lauren Foley (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial), who effectively run UMW's 6-2 offense.
A huge win over rival CNU wasn't quite enough for #4-seed Salisbury (14-9) to overtake UMW for the third spot, as with a Massey Rating of 90, the Sea Gulls will be featured in the tournament opener Friday morning. The Sea Gulls have been steady all season, and unsurprisingly rank among the top four in most statistical categories… Salisbury seemingly hangs its hat on defense as league leaders with 2.15 blocks per set. Also from the back row, Darian DiMatteo (Frederick, Md./Urbana) leads the C2C with an impressive 4.64 digs per set.
Mills (1-8) has played just nine contests this season, and only six of which count for NCAA qualification purposes. Yet, with a Massey Rating of 292—thanks largely in part to a home-and-home series with top-seeded UC Santa Cruz—the Cyclones edged out Finlandia (9-13, MR: 324) and Pratt (16-6, MR: 334) to claim the #5-seed for this weekend's tournament and will face Salisbury Friday morning.
Tournament Schedule
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5
Quarterfinals
11:00 a.m. – G1: #4 Salisbury (Md.) v. #5 Mills (Calif.)
1:30 p.m. – G2: #3 Mary Washington (Va.) v. #6 MOUNT MARY
Semifinals
4:00 p.m. – G3: #1 UC Santa Cruz (Calif.) v. G1 winner
6:30 p.m. – G4: #2 Christopher Newport (Va.) v. G2 winner
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6
Championship
1:00 p.m. – G5: G3 winner v. G4 winner
Follow Along with the Action
Mount Mary University will be charging $10.00 daily gate or $15.00 for two-day pass. CASH ONLY. Admission for Mount Mary University students and staff is FREE with Mount Mary University ID. Concessions will be available for purchase throughout tournament. Cash or Venmo will be accepted.
Additionally, all of this weekend's championship action is available virtually. Live video can be found on MMU Athletics' YouTube channel, while Live Stats can be found on each participating team's schedule page. All of the tournament information, including changes to the schedule if necessary, can be found at C2CSports.com.
Event Links
Live Video – Mount Mary University Athletics YouTube Channel
Live Stats - D3Sports.com Database
