SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Roger Williams went undefeated in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play this year and will head into the 2017 CCC Women's Volleyball Tournament as the No. 1 seed.
The Hawks, which went 9-0 in league play (18-6 overall), are looking to return to the conference championship after having their streak of seven straight Tournament titles snapped with an early exit in the quarterfinals a year ago.
They will open the postseason with a CCC Quarterfinal matchup with No. 8 seed Curry. The Colonels went 2-7 in CCC play (11-17 overall) to earn a spot in this year's bracket.
Last year's CCC Regular-Season and Tournament Champion Endicott will go into this year's field as the No. 2 seed. The Gulls went 8-1 in conference (19-9 overall) this year and will host No. 7 seed Gordon in the quarterfinals. The Fighting Scots finished the regular season at 4-5 in the CCC (15-12 overall).
The other two quarterfinals feature No. 3 seed Salve Regina (6-3 CCC, 16-11 overall) hosting No. 6 seed University of New England (4-5 CCC, 11-14 overall) and No. 4 seed Wentworth (6-3 CCC, 24-4 overall) hosting No. 5 seed Western New England (5-4 CCC, 16-13 overall). All four quarterfinals are set for 7 p.m. starts.
The conference tiebreaking procedure was necessary to determine the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds. Salve and Wentworth both had 6-3 conference records, tying them for the No. 3 spot. Salve won the head-to-head matchup between the two teams to earn the higher seed. The same method was used to break the tie at No. 6 between UNE and Gordon, which both had 4-5 league records.
The quarterfinal winners will meet in the CCC Semifinal round on Thursday, Nov. 2. The winner of the Roger Williams-Curry match will play the winner of the Wentworth-WNE game and the Endicott-Gordon winner will face the Salve-UNE winner.
The two semifinal winners will advance to compete in the CCC Women's Volleyball Championship match on Saturday, Nov. 4. The winner of the title contest will be named the 2017 CCC Women's Volleyball Tournament Champion and earn the conference's automatic qualifier into the 2017 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship.
CCC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
All matches hosted by higher seed
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Oct. 31
#8 Curry at #1 Roger Williams, 7 p.m.
#7 Gordon at #2 Endicott, 7 p.m.
#6 University of New England at #3 Salve Regina, 7 p.m.
#5 Western New England at #4 Wentworth, 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Thursday, Nov. 2
#4/5 winner vs. #1/8 winner, TBA
#3/6 winner vs. #2/7 winner, TBA
Finals – Saturday, Nov. 4
Semifinal winners, TBA
- Release courtesy of the Commonwealth Coast Conference
