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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – After finishing third in the Liberty League during the regular season, the Vassar College women's volleyball team makes its third straight appearance in the conference tournament this weekend. The third-seeded Brewers (15-9, 4-3 Liberty) take on second-seeded RIT (26-4, 6-1 Liberty) in the semifinals at 5 p.m. on Friday from Ithaca's Ben Light Gymnasium.
This marks the second time in three seasons that the Brewers and Tigers are meeting in the Liberty League semifinals. Vassar won that 2016 matchup at Kenyon Hall in five sets. In this year's regular season tilt, RIT earned a five-set victory on Oct. 19.
Vassar was eliminated in the semifinals last season, but received an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
Devan Gallagher (San Francisco, CA) paces the Brewers and ranks third in the league with 3.76 kills per set. She also averages 3.34 digs per set.
Jane McLeod (New York, NY) tallies 3.47 kills per set, sixth-best in the conference, and
Annie MacMillan (Colorado Springs, CO) is third in the Liberty League with 10.10 assists per set. Meanwhile,
Anna Zucchero's (Newton, MA) 4.85 digs per set are fourth-most in the conference.
RIT is back in the Liberty League Tournament after not qualifying last year. Katie Hobler paces the Tigers offensively. She ranks second in the league in kills (4.30 per set) and fourth in hitting percentage (.326). Kelly Waters, meanwhile, is third in the conference with a .337 hitting percentage and fifth with 0.63 blocks per set. Erin Parkinson hands out a league-best 10.68 assists per set, and Kathryn Vogl's 0.50 service aces per set are second-most in the conference. Maria Simonetti averages 3.56 digs per set to lead the team.
The winner of Friday's match will advance to face either No. 19 Ithaca (18-6, 7-0 Liberty), the top seed, or fourth-seeded Clarkson (16-10, 4-3 Liberty) for the title at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The tournament champion receives the Liberty League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
