BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Five days after a difficult loss to Adelphi Univerrsity in the Northeast-10 Conference Championships, the Bentley University Falcons turned the tables on the Panthers, posting a 3-0 victory in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball East Regional Thursday night at Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium.

The Falcons, all of whom were playing in their first NCAA tournament, bested the Panthers 25-21, 25-17 and 25-15 to earn the right to face top-seeded University of Bridgeport (25-2) Friday night at 7:30 in the regional semis.

"They knew there was a lot riding on this match and they didn't let it get to them," said acting head coach Joey Pacis. "The team is enjoying the experience of being here, but on the court, they just kept focusing on the job at hand."

Junior Jaci Buscher (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain HS) and senior Tatiana Froehlich (Newton, Mass./Newton HS) each recorded 13 kills to lead the Falcons, and senior setter Alex Tator (Los Angeles, Calif./Marlborough School) posted her eighth double-double of the season, finishing with 28 assists and a dozen digs.

After the Panthers closed within one at 22-21, Bentley put away the opening set with two kills by Buscher, her fifth and sixth of the night, and an attack error by Adelphi. Down 7-5 early, the Falcons ran off four straight points, a spurt started and finished by Froehlich kills, and never relinquished the lead from that point on.

Froehlich was dominating in the second set, putting the ball away an amazing nine times in 15 swings. A Sullivan kill broke a 2-2 tie, Froehlich followed with a pair of kills and the Falcons maintained the advantage the rest of the way with the eight-point final differential, 25-17, the biggest of the set.

The third set was the only one in which the Falcons didn't grab the lead early. Adelphi picked up four of the first six points and was still up 9-7 after a kill from sophomore Mandy Stanislovaitis (West Chester, Ohio).

"The last set could have gone either way, but we kept our composure after they got off to the quick start", said Pacis.

They certainly did keep their composure, running off eight unanswered points to open a 14-9 lead. Two Adelphi attack errors evened the set at 9-9, a Buscher kill put Bentley in front and senior Savannah Dominguez (Miami, Fla./Palmer Trinity School) served an ace for an 11-9 advantage.

The surge continued with a shared block by Buscher and senior Simone Silvera (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook HS), another Dominguez ace and a Panther attack error.

The run grew to 11-1 and 14-2, making it a 21-11 tally. After a 4-1 spurt cut the advantage to seven, Adelphi's ninth serving error, a Dominguez kill and a Dominguez block closed out the match.

Froehlich and Buscher both hit well from their outside positions, finishing at .333 and .312, respectively. Dominguez followed with five kills, two aces and four blocks, and senior Kaleigh Sullivan (Naples, Fla./Harley School (N.Y.)) also had five kills, with two blocks.

Senior libero Lauren Colasanti (Northville, Mich./Northville HS) finished with 14 kills, including her 500th of the season, and Buscher made ten digs for her tenth double-double.

The other three matches were also three-set sweeps with number one Bridgeport eliminating Post University, sixth-seeded LIU Post upending number three Stonehill, and second-seeded New Haven advancing  by Saint Rose.

 The other semifinal will have New Haven playing LIU Post at 5 pm.

NCAA DIVISION II EAST REGIONAL
at Univ. of Bridgeport

Quarterfinals – Thursday, Nov. 20

#1 Bridgeport 3, #8 Post 0
#2 New Haven 3, #7 Saint Rose 0
#6 LIU Post 3, #3 Stonehill 0
#4 Bentley 3, #5 Adelphi 0 

Semifinals – Friday, Nov. 21
#1 Bridgeport (25-2) vs. #4 Bentley (19-11), 7:30 pm
#2 New Haven (21-8) vs. #6 LIU Post (20-13), 5 pm

Finals – Saturday, Nov. 22
7:00 pm

Winner advances to Elite Eight in Louisville, Ky.