WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL ENTERS GNAC TOURNAMENT AS TOP SEED

BOSTON, Mass. – Emmanuel College has earned the top seed in this week's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Volleyball Tournament.  This is the first time since the 2006 season in which the Saints have entered the tourney as the highest seed.  The eight-team tournament begins with quarterfinal action this Tuesday evening with matches taking place at the home sites of the four highest seeds.

The Saints rounded out their conference schedule with a 10-1 mark, wrapping up the regular-season title with a pair of wins this past Saturday to clinch the top seed.  Defending GNAC champion Rivier University also finished at 10-1, but Emmanuel received the No. 1 seed as a result of its head-to-head victory over the Raiders back on October 11th.

Emmanuel will host eighth-seeded Lasell College (4-7) on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., while second-seeded Rivier will welcome Anna Maria College (4-7) on Tuesday, also at 7:00 p.m.

Simmons College (9-2) earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will take on sixth-seeded Norwich University (5-6) Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.  The final Tuesday quarterfinal matchup will see fifth-seeded University of Saint Joseph (8-3) travel to fourth-seeded Johnson & Wales University (8-3) for a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Semifinal action is scheduled for Thursday, November 6th, with the title match slated for Saturday, November 8th.  The winner of the GNAC Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Emmanuel has won three prior GNAC Championships (2004, 2005 and 2006).  Since 2006, the Saints have earned bids to the ECAC Tournament three times (1999, 2011 and 2013), but EC will be looking to add a fourth conference title and NCAA appearance to the program record books this year.

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.

Quarterfinals - Tuesday, November 4
Match 1: #8 Lasell at #1 Emmanuel - 7:00 p.m.
Match 2: #5 Saint Joseph (CT) at #4 Johnson & Wales - 7:30 p.m.
Match 3: #6 Norwich at #3 Simmons - 7:00 p.m.
Match 4: #7 Anna Maria at #2 Rivier - 7:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Thursday, November 6
Match 5: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner
Match 6: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner

Championship - Saturday, November 8
Match 7: Match 5 vs. Match 6 winner

- Portions of this release courtesy of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference