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Women's Volleyball November 4, 2015

CU Volleyball Weekend Preview - Liberty League Championship Tournament (11/6-7)

For the third straight year the route to the Liberty League's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Volleyball tournament will go through Potsdam, NY as the Clarkson University Volleyball team will play host to the conference championships this weekend.

The Golden Knights, ranked 19th in the latest AVCA Coaches' Poll, will be looking to earn their fourth straight conference championship and seventh straight NCAA appearance as the top seed in the tournament. Clarkson (25-8 overall, 12-0 Liberty League) will take on fourth-seeded RIT (21-18, 7-5) in the first match at 5:00 pm Friday at Alumni Gymnasium, while the second match of the evening will pit second-seeded Union College (28-5, 9-3) against third-seed St. Lawrence University (17-17, 7-5) at 7:30 pm on Friday. The championship will be played at 4:00 pm on Saturday by the winners of the two Friday matches.

Clarkson has won 42 straight matches against Liberty League foes, including the post-season, dating back to the conference championship in 2012 but the Golden Knights have suffered more missteps than in the past, having dropped three sets in the league this year, including one against Friday night's foe RIT. The Golden Knights lead the Liberty League in several categories, and the team sits atop the leaderboard in even more categories when the schedule is reduced to just the 12 conference matches. In 12 league matches, the Knights have hit .285, more than 40 percent higher than any other team in the conference, while holding opponents to just a .081 hitting percentage. Clarkson also leads the team in kills, opponents' kills, opponents' blocks, aces, and assists when considering league teams. Aishvina Arasu leads the conference in hitting at .336 overall, and that number increases to .371 in league matches, trailing only classmate and teammate Danielle Farabee at .381. As impressive as those figures are, the top 10 hitting percentages overall and in conference belong to players that will be competing in this weekend's championship tournament. Kirstie Shurie leads the league in assists per set (10.71) and has guided the team's offense to another strong national-ranking this year thanks to a diverse group of hitters.

Fourth-seeded RIT was in the championship match last year against the Golden Knights before bowing out in three sets (25-21, 25-17, 25-19). The Tigers have a strong offense, backed by junior Sarah Szybist, and average 12.05 kills per set with a .185 hitting percentage against conference opponents. The team also allows opponents to hit .156 (fifth in the league), but give up just 9.14 kills per set (second in the conference). Szybist is hitting .237 overall and .249 in conference matches, producing more than four kills per set, the top figure in the Liberty League. She is also aided by Kayla Wheeler (.246 hitting percentage in conference), Aleah Chinn (.250 hitting percentage overall), and Laiz Novaes (2.44 kills per set in league). Erin Parkinson is averaging 9.52 assists per set and 0.48 aces per set against teams in the Liberty League.

Second-seeded Union fell to Clarkson in four sets twice this year, and that has been the result in five of the last eight meetings since the start of the 2013 season. Union's only losses in the Liberty League came to Clarkson and Vassar, while the Dutchwomen swept both St. Lawrence and RIT. Union is hitting .196 overall and is a tick better in conference, and the team possesses the best block in the league, averaging 1.84 denials per set. The Dutchwomen also own a balanced offense with several quality options in Lauren Woods (.285 hitting percentage), Morgan Clark (.276 hitting percentage), Rachel Wyman (.265 hitting percentage, 3.30 kills per set), and Kelley White (2.54 kills per set). Amanda Price is the team's setter and averaging 9.32 assists per set.

St. Lawrence comes into the tournament as the third seed after winning the tie-breaker against RIT. The Saints have the second-best hitting percentage in the conference at .202 and that number dips to just .186 in conference matches. Senior Cristina Deschaine leads the team in hitting percentage (.257) and blocks per set (0.91) while Lexi Brown is hitting .247 with a team-best 2.91 kills per set. Katie Kull is averaging 8.17 assists per set and Mariah Dignan is the top libero, according to digs, still playing, averaging 4.65 per set. St. Lawrence has three of the top six block leaders on its roster in Deschaine, Maddy Ruehl (0.54), and Brown (0.47).
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Players Mentioned

Aishvina Arasu

#5 Aishvina Arasu

OH
5' 10"
Senior
Danielle Farabee

#13 Danielle Farabee

MH
5' 10"
Senior
Kirstie Shurie

#17 Kirstie Shurie

S/L
5' 5"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Aishvina Arasu

#5 Aishvina Arasu

5' 10"
Senior
OH
Danielle Farabee

#13 Danielle Farabee

5' 10"
Senior
MH
Kirstie Shurie

#17 Kirstie Shurie

5' 5"
Senior
S/L