ITHACA, N.Y. – The Stevenson University women's volleyball team begins its run in the NCAA tournament on Thursday, as the Mustangs (22-7) take on Babson (24-6) at Ben Light Gymnasium hosted by Ithaca College.
The Mustangs, seeded sixth, will take on the third-seeded Beavers (24-6) at 4:30 p.m. with the winner to face second-seeded Ithaca and seventh-seeded Framingham State (21-10) on Friday. The regional final is set for Saturday, with the winner advancing to the National Championship in California.
Stevenson, who received an at-large bid, has now qualified for the tournament in every season since 2011. The Mustangs are led by senior middle hitter
Darian Dildy, who was the Co-Player of the Year in the MAC Commonwealth.
Dildy was a first-team selection, with
Kayla Vaeth and
Rileigh Kimball being named second-team selections.
Dildy is the first player from Stevenson to earn Player of the Year honors since Katie Leftridge did it in 2019. From her middle hitter position, the senior led the conference in hitting percentage (.439) and blocks (109). She was also top 10 in the conference in kills (251) and points (320.5). Her .439 hitting percentage is the best in Division III heading into the postseason. She had a 1.000 attack percentage (7-0-7) against PSU-Berks and went 9-0-10 (.900) in the win over Lebanon Valley.
Vaeth, a selection at the libero position, was second in the conference in digs (485) and digs per game (4.80). A second-team selection last season, she had a season-high 33 digs against Salisbury.
Kimball, a selection at the outside hitter position, was an honorable mention selection last season. This year, she led the team with 296 kills and was fifth best in the conference in that category. She had a season-best 22 kills in the win over Susquehanna.
Babson, out of the New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference, also received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. This is their sixth straight appearance in the tournament.
Erin Gray leads the team in kills with 296, while Zoe Ackerman has 767 assists and Lauren Gips has 80 blocks.
