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Outlook: The College of Wooster (12-15, 4-4 North Coast Athletic Conference) is the sixth seed for the single-elimination 2019 NCAC Tournament and will take on seventh-seeded Kenyon College (7-19, 2-6 NCAC) in the opening round at Wittenberg University's Pam Evans Smith Arena at 4 p.m. on Friday, November 8. The winner of the first-round match advances to play third-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University (12-16, 6-2 NCAC) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Ticket Information: Tickets for adults are $7 per day, while youth and students are admitted for $3 per day. NCAC students with a valid student ID are admitted free of charge.
Tournament Format: Starting in 2017, the NCAC Tournament switched to a single-elimination format. The top two seeds (Wittenberg and Denison University) have a bye until Saturday's semifinal matches, which are set to take place at 11 a.m., with the two winners meeting for the tournament crown at 5 p.m. The third and fourth seeds (Ohio Wesleyan and DePauw University) have a bye for the first round of the tournament. Previously, quarterfinal losers met in consolation semifinals and then played in the appropriate fifth- or seventh-place matches. The NCAC's senior ceremony and the announcement of the all-conference team will take place at the conclusion of Friday's 4 p.m. matches.
Last Meeting – Kenyon: Wooster hit a season-high .348 and blocked a season-best 10 attack attempts during its 18-25, 25-10, 25-23, 25-11 win over Kenyon on October 23. First-year Hayley Nash (Peoria, Ariz./Xavier College Preparatory) led all players with 16 kills, and she hit a lights-out .483 for the match. Senior Anna Medema (Mariposa, Calif./Mariposa County) followed with 14 kills and hit at a .267 clip. Both Medema (10 digs) and Nash (11 digs) turned in double-doubles on the night, while sophomore Katie Billetdeaux (Lindenhurst, Ill./Lakes Community) and Brooke Swain (Seville, Ohio/Cloverleaf) had four blocks each.
Last Meeting – Ohio Wesleyan: Armed with a strong service game all night long, Ohio Wesleyan swept Wooster in unique fashion on September 27, as all three sets ended in 25-15 scores. The Battling Bishops served up 15 aces for the match, while the Scots logged six of their own, including two each by Billetdeaux and Medema.
Scots Tie for Fifth in NCAC, Marking Program's Highest Showing Since 2012: Wooster wrapped up NCAC play with a 25-16, 25-14, 25-19 win over Allegheny College on October 29, and the victory enabled the Scots to secure a fifth-place NCAC finish, the program's best since 2012. Nash surpassed 250 kills on the year in the match, while fellow first-year Sydney Fitzcharles (Twinsburg, Ohio/Beaumont School) logged her 400th dig of the year in the win.
Streak Snappers: Wooster picked up its signature win of the season thus far on October 12, when the Scots downed NCAC-leading Denison 18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-21, and in doing so, the Black and Gold snapped the Big Red's 10-match winning streak. That victory carried extra meaning for head coach Sarah Davis, as it was her 200th win at the College.
Nash Leading the Way for Wooster: Nash has certainly left her mark on Wooster's program as a rookie, as the Peoria, Arizona product ranks third in the conference with 285 kills. That's the sixth-most at Wooster in the current scoring era. Nash has nine matches with at least 15 kills, including the final three of the regular season. The all-around superstar has tallied 11 double-doubles on the year and ranks second on the team with 273 digs.
Another First Since 2012: Wooster was victorious in its NCAC lid-lifter for the first time since 2012, as the Scots turned aside Oberlin College 25-19, 20-25, 25-19, 28-26 on September 24. Nash upped her season-high in kills to 21, and that's the most since Erica Skillman's 21 versus Thiel College on October 20, 2012. Junior Meghan Botsch (Dunwoody, Ga./Pace Academy) dished out 50 assists in the win, a total tied for the second-most in a four-set match in program history during the current scoring era.