AEC PREVIEW | Pacers, Griffins Face Off in Playoffs for Third Straight Year

Marywood has won 18 of 19 versus the Griffins since 2007

Scranton, Pa. – For the third straight time, fourth-ranked Marywood will welcome No. 5 Gwynedd Mercy in the 2022 Atlantic East Conference volleyball tournament on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. The first round matchup will be streamed on the Atlantic East Network.

Marywood (13-16, 2-4) secured the home date with an emphatic win against the Griffins in the conference finale. Needing a three-set win to get ahead of a three-way tie separating fourth through sixth places, Marywood defeated Gwynedd Mercy by scores of 25-12, 28-26, 25-22.

With a victory, Marywood would either travel to top-seeded Cabrini University or No. 2 Marymount in the semifinal. Its destination would be dependent on the winner of the other first round matchup between No. 3 Neumann and No. 6 Centenary.

Marywood is reeling off of a three-set win over Oswego State to close its regular season. Shannon Corr led the Pacers with nine kills, and Mikayla Meek recorded 15 assists and eight digs.

Following its loss to the Pacers on Oct. 26, Gwynedd Mercy split a pair of matches against Northeastern Pennsylvania teams. The Griffins defeated Clarks Summit in three sets on Thursday. They traveled to Wilkes-Barre to lose a heartbreaking five-set match to King's College. Bria Purnell recorded 20 kills and two block assists, and Ayanna Gaston posted a career-best 46 assists.

Marywood has been the No. 4 seed in the past three Atlantic East playoffs.

SERIES HISTORY

Dating back to 2007, Marywood has won 18 of 19 matches against the Griffins in CSAC and AEC play. Gwynedd Mercy's lone victory over the Pacers came during the pandemic-shortened Spring 2021 season when the two teams split a pair of five-set marathons in Gwynedd Valley. Marywood currently holds a four-match winning streak over the Griffins.

Marywood and Gwynedd Mercy will face each other in the first round for the third consecutive season. The Pacers eliminated the Griffins in four sets in 2019 and 2021 to advance to the semifinals. Rebecca Klemovitch recorded 12 kills, four aces, three blocks and a .308 attack percentage in last season's win. Annie Heyen '22 finished with 33 assists and nine digs.

In their previous matchup six days ago, Shannon Corr had a career-best game with 22.5 points. She finished with 15 kills, 13 digs, five aces, four total blocks, and a .522 attack percentage. Libby Smith's four aces contributed to Marywood's 17-5 advantage on successful services.

PLAYERS TO KNOW

Libby Smith, DS, Marywood: Smith leads the Atlantic East with 68 aces and .69 aces per set. Her serves rank 45th in aces per set and 17th in total aces in NCAA Division III. Her season high was eight aces in a three-match win over Wilkes. She is five kills shy of cracking the Top 5 single-season aces at Marywood.

Shannon Corr, OH, Marywood: Corr was named Atlantic East Player of the Week on Monday for leading Marywood with 29 kills, 36 digs, eight total blocks, six aces, and a 290 in three matches. She currently sits sixth in the Atlantic East with 3.05 kills per set. Corr filled in the void left by Rebecca Klemovitch's injury by improving her attack percentage .66 points and recording 16 more total blocks from last year. Corr has 10 double-digit matches for kills.

Casey Hagerstrom, MH, Marywood: Hagerstrom leads starters with a .255 attack percentage that ranks fifth in the conference. She has a team-best 63 total blocks on the season. Hagerstrom has the sixth-most single-match kills at Marywood with 21 versus FDU-Florham.

Bria Purnell, OH, Gwynedd Mercy: Purnell ranked fourth in the Atlantic East with 3.6 kills and 3.93 points per game. Purnell recorded 11 kills in the previous matchup between the two weeks. An All-Atlantic East Second Team honoree last season, she improved her kills per set rate by .85 this season. Her highlight of the season was a 29-kill effort against Centenary.

Ashley Morris, L, Gwynedd Mercy: Morris ranks second in the Atlantic East with 4.57 digs per set. She was held in check with just 13 digs and six reception errors in the teams' previous meeting. Morris has a pair of 30-plus dig matches against Centenary and Washington College.

Print Friendly Version