Posted: Oct 19, 2011
Mustangs Take First Seed at Region Championships
Bethlehem, Pa. - The Montgomery County Community College Mustangs faced some firece competition Monday evening, as they traveled to Bethlehem to participate in a trimatch versus Northampton Community College and the County College of Morris.
Morris is a member of Division II in Region 19, while both Northampton and the Mustangs are members of Division III. In the National Division III Poll, both Northampton and Montgomery received votes for the Top Ten Distinction, but failed to make the cut.
In the first match fo the evening, the Mustangs faced off against the Spartans of Northampton Community College, the only team to previously defeat the Mustangs in regular conference play this season.
"The girls and I had been looking forward to this rematch since last month," said Mustangs Head Coach Misti Volpe. "We'd been preparing physically, as well as mentally, for the matchup, which I felt is where we faltered last time when we lost in a 5 set match."
The Mustangs started off at a slightly slow pace in the first set, allowing the Spartans to pull ahead and win 25-20. Coach Volpe made some lineup adjustments, which allowed the Mustangs to gain the upperhand and win the next three sets in a row 25-22, 25-19 and 25-22.
Marina Weckner started out the second game of the night with a huge momentum-swinging kill that took a Northampton player by surprise, hitting her in the throat. Weckner led the team and finished the evening with a .316 hitting average, managing about one kill for every two attempts.
Brianna Musselman followed closely with a .240 average and 12 kills. Libero Mel Angelucci was also used as an option, adding three kills on eight attempts out of the back row. Setter Kaitlin Franks dished out 35 assists for the match and was third in digs for the evening with 15.
The Mustangs had four players land digs in the double digits for the match. Angelucci led the team with 24, followed by Sam Reeves with 17 and Nikki Reichert with 10. Musselman tallied four aces in the effort off her fast-paced jump serve.
Coach Volpe said overall of the match, "I was very excited to see the girls really come into their own tonight. They did a great job of working through plays and setting the game pace."
Next the Mustangs faced off against Morris in a best-of-three match and managed to sweep the match with set wins of 25-18 and 25-22. Three hitters hit over .600 against Morris. Marina Weckner led the team with a 1.000, two kills on two attempts. Bethany Rendemonti followed with a .750, three kills on four attempts. Brianna Musselman averaged a .636, with seven kills on 11 attempts. Kaitlynn Franks had 14 assists in the match up and Nikki Reichert led the match defensively with seven digs. In total the team had seven aces against Morris, two from Mel Angelucci and two from Franks.
"Both teams were great compeititon for the night. It is very rewarding to come out with well-deserved wins," said Coach Volpe. "I am looking forward to Region Championships this weekend."
The Mustangs completed their season with a 17-2 overall record and 11-1 in the NJCAA DIII Region 19 to tie Northampton for first place in the Region. A coin toss gave the Mustangs a first place seed, so the team will now face Bergen in the Semi-Finals at the Regional Tournament at Northampton Community College this weekend.
Morris is a member of Division II in Region 19, while both Northampton and the Mustangs are members of Division III. In the National Division III Poll, both Northampton and Montgomery received votes for the Top Ten Distinction, but failed to make the cut.
In the first match fo the evening, the Mustangs faced off against the Spartans of Northampton Community College, the only team to previously defeat the Mustangs in regular conference play this season.
"The girls and I had been looking forward to this rematch since last month," said Mustangs Head Coach Misti Volpe. "We'd been preparing physically, as well as mentally, for the matchup, which I felt is where we faltered last time when we lost in a 5 set match."
The Mustangs started off at a slightly slow pace in the first set, allowing the Spartans to pull ahead and win 25-20. Coach Volpe made some lineup adjustments, which allowed the Mustangs to gain the upperhand and win the next three sets in a row 25-22, 25-19 and 25-22.
Marina Weckner started out the second game of the night with a huge momentum-swinging kill that took a Northampton player by surprise, hitting her in the throat. Weckner led the team and finished the evening with a .316 hitting average, managing about one kill for every two attempts.
Brianna Musselman followed closely with a .240 average and 12 kills. Libero Mel Angelucci was also used as an option, adding three kills on eight attempts out of the back row. Setter Kaitlin Franks dished out 35 assists for the match and was third in digs for the evening with 15.
The Mustangs had four players land digs in the double digits for the match. Angelucci led the team with 24, followed by Sam Reeves with 17 and Nikki Reichert with 10. Musselman tallied four aces in the effort off her fast-paced jump serve.
Coach Volpe said overall of the match, "I was very excited to see the girls really come into their own tonight. They did a great job of working through plays and setting the game pace."
Next the Mustangs faced off against Morris in a best-of-three match and managed to sweep the match with set wins of 25-18 and 25-22. Three hitters hit over .600 against Morris. Marina Weckner led the team with a 1.000, two kills on two attempts. Bethany Rendemonti followed with a .750, three kills on four attempts. Brianna Musselman averaged a .636, with seven kills on 11 attempts. Kaitlynn Franks had 14 assists in the match up and Nikki Reichert led the match defensively with seven digs. In total the team had seven aces against Morris, two from Mel Angelucci and two from Franks.
"Both teams were great compeititon for the night. It is very rewarding to come out with well-deserved wins," said Coach Volpe. "I am looking forward to Region Championships this weekend."
The Mustangs completed their season with a 17-2 overall record and 11-1 in the NJCAA DIII Region 19 to tie Northampton for first place in the Region. A coin toss gave the Mustangs a first place seed, so the team will now face Bergen in the Semi-Finals at the Regional Tournament at Northampton Community College this weekend.