COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team heads to Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday for a Northeast 10 Conference Championship first-round match at 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and free for students from NE10 institutions with a valid ID.
 
The fifth-seeded Purple Knights (7-17, 4-5 NE10) and fourth-seeded Owls (15-7, 6-3 NE10) meet in the postseason for the first time after Southern Connecticut State won in three sets during their regular-season meeting on Oct. 14. The Owls were No. 6 in the latest NCAA East Region rankings. Under third-year head coach Lauren Brough, the first full-time head coach in program history, Saint Michael's has qualified for the postseason three years in a row, a streak unprecedented since 1990-95. The Purple and Gold forged a three-way tie for fifth place in the final NE10 standings, its best finish since 1994.
 
In Tuesday's other first-round matches, No. 2 Adelphi University entertains No. 7 Franklin Pierce University and No. 3 American International College hosts No. 6 Saint Anselm College, both at 6 p.m. Tuesday's victors advance to the semifinals at No. 1 Bentley University on Friday. The host Falcons oppose the Saint Michael's/Southern Connecticut State winner at 5 p.m. before the other teams square off at 7:30 p.m. Bentley will also be the host site of the championship match on Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
After losing the 2024 season to injury, senior captain Ella Patterson (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago) has returned to lead the Purple Knights in kills (158) and aces (42) while standing second in digs (209), and classmate Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic) has dropped 149 kills and tallied a career-high 49 blocks. Patterson stands tied for sixth in the NE10 in aces. Junior Ashley Marshall (Escondido, Calif./Escondido Charter) is sixth in the league in assists (485) while sharing setting duties with first-year Caitlin Mediate (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth), who owns 200 assists, 194 digs and 29 aces.
 
The middle is anchored by junior captain Grace Almeida (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and first-year Rory Tower (Fountain Hills, Ariz./Desert Mountain), whose efforts have keyed the Purple Knights' highest block total (180) in 14 seasons. Tower has 131 kills on .291 hitting with 92 blocks, putting her fourth in program history in blocks, and second among rookies. Almeida owns 129 kills on .341 hitting with 85 blocks and 33 aces. Her 70 block assists are third in school annals. Almeida is second in the NE10 in attack percentage and third in blocks per set, and Tower is second in blocks average and eighth in hitting.
 
Sophomore libero Anna Daggett (Hinesburg, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) has 268 digs while standing seventh in the league in digs per set, and classmate Nora Schulze (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) delivers a team-best 2.1 kills per set. First-year Lillie King (Livermore, Calif./Carondelet) averaged 2.1 kills during the past five matches. Sophomore D'Niaya Settles (Ames, Iowa/Ames) has 114 kills but missed the last month of action.