Brockport, NY – The No. 2 seeded Brockport Golden Eagles will take on the No. 3 seeded New Paltz Hawks on Friday in the SUNYAC Semifinals. This match is scheduled to start at 7pm at SUNY Cortland's Whitney T. Corey '43 Gymnasium.
 
What's at Stake: Friday's semifinal match against New Paltz is a direct path for one of the teams into the SUNYAC Championship. The winner on Friday will face the winner of Cortland vs Geneseo in the conference title match. The Golden Eagles, led by first-year head coach Kate Isaksen, are pursuing a shot at claiming the 10^th SUNYAC Title in program history.
 
Recent Postseason History: Brockport's volleyball program has won nine conference championships in history, with 2019 being the most recent. Brockport has won four of the last six SUNYAC Titles, bringing home the trophy in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019. Last year the Golden Eagles were halted by Geneseo, 3-2, in the conference semifinals. This time around they draw the New Paltz Hawks in the semis for a chance at redemption.
 
Closing the Regular Season: This past weekend Brockport traveled to Pittsburgh, PA to compete at the Carnegie Mellon Tri-Match. The team pulled out a hard-fought victory over Denison in the first contest, 3-2. Then against the host team from Carnegie Mellon, the Green and Gold were swept, 3-0. After going 1-1 on the final day of the regular season the squad finishes 19-7 overall and 8-1 in the SUNYAC heading into the postseason.
 
Remaining Teams: After both Buffalo State and Oswego were eliminated in the first round of the postseason, there are only four teams left to fight for the 2022 SUNYAC Title. The top seed SUNY Cortland will host the semifinal and final rounds. No. 2 Brockport, No. 3 New Paltz, and No. 4 Geneseo will head to Cortland, NY this weekend to decide a conference champion.
 
Hard Hitters: Jordan Thompson and Andrea Coyle have been the top attacking duo in the conference all season long. Thompson is the SUNYAC leader in total points (394), kills (298), and service aces (65). She is also ranked second with averages of 3.17 kills and 4.2 points per set. Coyle is also inside the top-5 at fourth in total points (313.5), kills (269), and sixth in digs (322). She ranks third with 3.4 points per set and fourth with 2.89 kills per set.
 
Key Defensively: Brockport has had fantastic play from its lead libero and middle blocker this year as well. With 423 digs to her tally, Madalyn Bowen leads all of the SUNYAC in total digs. Bowen's average of 4.81 digs per set is ranked second in the conference. Teammate Myah Frostclapp had defended the middle of the net well with 80 total blocks for the Green and Gold. She ranks second in the SUNYAC in total blocks thanks to a conference-leading 62 block assists and 18 solo blocks.
 
Happy to Assist: The Golden Eagles have benefitted from a two-setter rotation with two of the best in the conference this season. Kerri McHale and Ashley Allen are both top-10 in the SUNYAC in assists and are the only two teammates to be inside the top-10. McHale is ranked sixth in the league with 503 assists, while Allen is close behind at eighth with 415.
 
Rematch with New Paltz: Brockport defeated the Hawks when the two teams met earlier in the year, 3-2, at home. After losing the opening set to New Paltz, the Green and Gold won four of the three of the next four to clinch the win. Andrea Coyle was all over the place to rack up team-highs of 18 kills and 18 digs. Jordan Thompson and Myah Frostclapp combined for 24 kills and eight blocks, while Ashley Allen recorded 40 assists. The Golden Eagles will have a chance to repeat their victorious performance with a trip to the SUNYAC Championship on the line.
 
Scouting the Hawks: New Paltz enters the semifinals at 21-3 overall this year and went 7-2 against conference opponents during the regular season. The team has just one loss in its last 14 matches and is fresh off of a 3-0 sweep of Buffalo State in the first round of SUNYACs. #18 Mackenzie Williams leads the team with a total of 343.5 points on the season and is the team leader with 288 kills as well. #15 Cate DiGiacomo has 735 assists as the setter and the Hawks look to #2 Mia Waddell for a team-high 325 digs. #17 Victoria Konicki and #14 Letisha Perez lead the squad with 58 and 57 total blocks respectively.
 
Saturday's SUNYAC Championship: Friday night's results will decide which two teams will face-off on Saturday for the conference title. Before Brockport takes on New Paltz, Cortland plays Geneseo in the other semifinal match. The winners will ultimately battle it out on Saturday in Cortland, NY at 4pm in the SUNYAC Championship.