BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Southern Vermont College men's volleyball team is headed back to the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) postseason tournament with the Mountaineers taking the sixth seed as announced by the league on Sunday.
In the newly-formatted field of six, SVC will head to No. 3 Elms College Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. first-round match.
Southern Vermont (3-9 NECC, 6-21 overall) makes the tournament for the sixth time in the last seven years. Elms hosts Tuesday's contest after going 8-4 in league action and 16-9 overall.
"I'm happy to see us back in the NECC tournament again," commented SVC first-year head coach Scott Fitzgerald '16. "The team is young and doesn't have a lot of experience, but they're very-much capable of surprising anyone they face in the playoffs."
Four-time champion Endicott College once again claimed the top seed and home-court advantage with an unblemished 12-0 record in league play (19-10 overall).
SVC looks to get back to the semis where the Mountaineers would visit No. 2 Regis College (10-2 NECC, 15-13 overall) Thursday night for a 6 p.m. first serve.
"They each need to play to their strengths and support each other," Fitzgerald added about his team. "It will be a great learning experience for everyone to be in this playoff situation—the first of many to come."
The Mountaineers enter the postseason having won three of their last five matches.
2017 NECC Men's Volleyball Tournament Bracket
First Round – Tuesday, April 11th
Game 1: #5 Newbury College @ #4 Eastern Nazarene College 7:00 p.m.
Game 2: #6 Southern Vermont College @ #3 Elms College 7:00 p.m.
Semifinals – Thursday, April 13th
Game 3: Game 1 winner @ #1 Endicott College – 7:00p.m.
Game 4: Game 2 winner @ #2 Regis College – 6:00p.m.
Championship – Saturday, April 15th
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner – TBA
– #LetsGoSVC –