RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Felician University women's volleyball team will play as the No. 5 seed in the Spring 2021 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship tournament. The event begins tonight with three first-round matches.
Guided by seventh-year head coach John Chang, Felician is competing in the CACC playoffs for the third consecutive occasion. Tonight, the Golden Falcons will travel to Caldwell, N.J., to take on No. 4 seed Caldwell University on Corino Court at the Newman Center on the Caldwell campus. First service is scheduled for 7 p.m.
More information about the Spring 2021 CACC Women's Volleyball Championship tournament is available at https://www.caccathletics.org/sports/wvball/2020-21/releases/313Tourn. Felician (1-5, 1-5 CACC) is making its fifth CACC tournament appearance overall and is seeking its first championship.
Due to conference policy stemming from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, spectators will not be allowed at the Newman Center tonight. Caldwell will offer a free live webstream at https://caccnetwork.com/caldwell/?bfplayvid=249490 and a Live Stats feed at https://caldwellathletics.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary.
Felician sophomore setter and team captain Miquela Martinez (Santa Fe, N.M./St. Michael's HS) has become the first two-time All-CACC selection in Golden Falcon volleyball history. Martinez ranks second in the CACC heading into postseason play with 8.43 assists per set. Her favorite target has been junior outside hitter Maddie Sloan (Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell), whose 3.48 kills per set are fourth in the conference.
"After the fall season was cancelled, we weren't sure if we would play this year," Sloan said. "It would have been really difficult to just pick up in August after a full year off. So it's been good to get court time and get touches on the ball. We're disappointed with our record but we're making the most of the opportunity to play."
Caldwell (3-3, 3-3) is 1-2 at home this season. Of the seven teams that opted into the Spring 2021 campaign, the Cougars rank third in the CACC in attack percentage (.187) and blocking (1.70 per set). Junior outside Elise Smith (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) is an all-CACC honoree. She enters tonight second in the CACC in kills per set (3.83), fourth in aces per set (0.48) and 17th in dig average (2.83). Versatile freshman setter/opposite hitter Reese Sherwood (Salem, Ore./Sprague) averages 1.35 kills, 7.30 assists, 2.74 digs and 0.61 blocks per set.
"This tournament is a chance to reassess our faults and do better," Sloan said. "One thing we need to improve, and I'm definitely including myself in this, is our serve receive. We're grateful for the second chance this tournament provides."
Caldwell won the Spring 2021 regular-season meeting between the schools, 3-0 (25-15, 27-25, 25-23), on March 9 in Rutherford, N.J. The Cougars lead the all-time series, 25-4. The Cougars and Golden Falcons are meeting for the first time in the CACC Tournament.
Tonight's winner will take on top seed Georgian Court University in the semifinals on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Lakewood, N.J. The Spring 2021 CACC Championship Match is slated for Saturday, March 20.
