WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley volleyball team hosts a Northeast-10 quarterfinal match Tuesday, Nov. 14, when the Falcons take on St. Anselm at 7 p.m.

The field

Bentley (9-2 NE10) is the #3 seed of the NE10 Tournament, and St. Anselm (5-6) is #6. Adelphi and New Haven both finished the regular season with 10-1 conference records, but Adelphi earned the #1 seed and New Haven is #2. American International earned a home postseason match by taking the #4 seed. Southern New Hampshire is the #5 seed, followed by St. Anselm, St. Michael's, and Pace.

Recent history

Bentley has won eight consecutive matches against St. Anselm, dating back to the 2018 season. The last time the Hawks beat the Falcons was in a NE10 quarterfinal match during the 2017 season. That contest was in Waltham, Mass. Bentley last reached the NE10 Tournament Championship match in 2019, when it beat AIC in five sets.

Wheeler keeps on rolling

Ellie Wheeler put away 17 kills in Bentley's road match at Adelphi last Friday (Nov. 10). It was her sixth contest with at least 15 kills this season. Her season-high is 18, and she leads the team in kills per set (2.71).

Always reliable

Ingrid Murphy is one of only three players in the NE10 averaging at least 2.50 kills and 3.20 digs per set. She enters the postseason with averages of 2.58 kills per set and 3.20 digs per set. She recently finished with 13 kills and 11 digs in the regular-season finale at Pace (Nov. 11). In late October, Murphy became the ninth player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. 

Is it any Wunder

Caitlin Wunder put away 12 kills in the regular-season finale at Pace (Nov. 11). The Falcons are 4-1 this season when Wunder totals 10+ kills.

Dueling service

Bentley's 2.54 service aces per ser set ranks third in NCAA D-II. The second-ranked team in the nation is St. Anselm (2.56).

Scouting St. Anselm (14-10, 5-6 NE10)

The Hawks enter the postseason with four losses in the final six regular-season matches. Kaitlin Brown ranks fourth in the NE10 for kills per set (3.06), while Holly Franco leads in the nation in service aces per set (0.72). Abigail Macalguim ranks second in the NE10 for aces per set (0.58). The team's 0.187 hitting percentage is seventh in the conference, while the 15.96 digs per set ranks sixth, and the Hawks' 1.53 blocks per set ranks ninth.