HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 8, 2007) – On Thursday, the top four teams in the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball New York Regional Championship advanced to the second round with impressive victories at Stevens Institute of Technology's Canavan Arena in Hoboken, N.J. The tournament will continue on Friday as top-seeded Stevens takes on fourth-seeded Skidmore College at 7 p.m. That match will be preceded by the contest between No. 2 seed SUNY Cortland and No. 3 seed Nazareth College at 4:30 p.m.

All of Friday's action will be carried live at www.pennatlantic.com and www.Empire8.tv. As was the case with Thursday's matches, there will be user cap limits placed on the numbers of viewers that can access the feeds. The limit for the Cortland-Nazareth match is 75 users. Stevens-Skidmore will be capped at 100 users. The cap limit starts 15 minutes prior to match time when users are first allowed to access the stream.

Thursday, November 8
Match 1 – #2 SUNY Cortland d. #7 Russell Sage College, 3-0 (30-16, 30-12 30-19)
Sophomore outside hitter Michelle Gaufman (Wantagh, N.Y.) registered 13 kills and 11 digs while hitting .556 (13-3-18) in leading Cortland to a 30-16, 30-12, 30-19 victory over Russell Sage in the first match of the day.

Cortland also received a strong performance from senior outside hitter Kelsey Muka (Lansing, N.Y.), who accumulated 11 kills and 11 digs. Junior setter Brittney Horton (Oswego, N.Y.) added a match-high 41 assists in the victory.

Russell Sage (18-17) was led by senior outside hitter Catelyn Samonranski (Ballston Spa, N.Y.), who totaled 11 kills and four digs. Junior setter Kaitlin Olmstead (Horseheads, N.Y.) added 27 assists and six digs for the Gators.

Match 2 - #3 Nazareth College d. #6 Montclair State University, 3-0 (30-19, 30-25, 30-23)
Junior outside hitter Laura Persico (Ravena, N.Y.) posted 11 kills and 10 digs as she led Nazareth to a 30-19, 30-25, 30-23 win over Montclair in the second match of the day.

The Golden Flyers also received solid performances from sophomore libero Mallorie Clary (Baltimore, Md.) and sophomore setter Kate Zwickl (Chester, N.Y.). Clary registered 15 digs as Zwickl chipped in with 28 assists and eight digs in the victory.

Montclair State (22-13) was led by sophomore middle blocker Anna Chesnakova (East Brunswick, N.J.), who recorded 11 kills in the match. Freshman outside hitter Devon Johnston (Moorestown, N.J.) totaled 10 digs and five kills in the defeat. Sophomore setter Raisa Silvia (Newark, N.J.) finished with 23 assists and 15 digs for the Red Hawks.

Match 3 - #4 Skidmore College d. #5 Hunter College 3-0 (30-16, 30-21, 30-15)
Junior outside hitter Erica Duncan (San Francisco, Calif.) totaled 20 kills, 12 digs and four service aces as she led Skidmore to a 30-16, 30-21, 30-15 victory over Hunter in the third match of the day.

Skidmore received strong performances from freshman setter Becca Ormsby (Charlton, N.Y.) and junior outside hitter Murray Koch (Palo Alto, Calif.). Ormsby posted a match-high 36 assists as Koch finished with 15 kills and 16 digs. Sophomore libero Lauren Dinsdale (Harrington Park, N.J.) helped to secure the win as she notched 25 digs in the match.

The Hawks (23-12) were led by junior outside hitter Amanda Kamm (Dix Hills, N.Y.), who registered nine kills and 10 digs. Senior setter Melissa Hernandez (Ridgewood, N.Y.) had 11 assists as junior outside hitter Karolina Koguc (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 21 digs in the loss.

Match 4 - #1 Stevens Institute of Technology d. #8 Bridgewater State College 3-0 (30-22, 30-25, 30-14)
Junior outside hitter Melanie Volk registered 13 kills, nine digs and three blocks as she led 22nd-ranked and top-seeded Stevens past Bridgewater State in the final match of the day.

Junior outside hitter Melissa Rhode posted a season-high 36 assists and nine digs. Junior middle blocker Jessica Gardner notched six service aces and five kills as freshman libero Julia Reilly added 11 digs. The Ducks received a strong performance from senior outside hitter Dawn Herring, who amassed 10 kills and nine digs in the victory.

The Bears (17-19) were led by senior middle hitter Kelsey Collasius (Rochester, Mass.), who had a team-high 11 kills. Freshman defensive specialist Marissa Pita (Hyannis, Mass.) totaled 18 digs as senior setter Erica Kelley (Billerica, Mass.) chipped in with 23 assists in the defeat.

Friday, November 9
#2 Cortland vs. #3 Nazareth - 4:30 p.m.
#1 Stevens vs. #4 Skidmore - 7 p.m.

Saturday, November 10
Regional Championship Match – 7:30 p.m.