WALTHAM, Mass. – After capturing a share of the regular season title, the Bentley University women's volleyball team will be looking to add the Northeast-10 Conference championship to its resume and build on its impressive 23-5 record.

The NE10 championship tournament will get underway Thursday with the second-seeded Bentley Falcons hosting number seven Southern Connecticut State at 7 pm. The two teams met earlier this fall with Bentley prevailing in three sets (25-20, 25-13, 25-19). Fans who can't make it to the Dana Center can watch the match on www.NE10NOW.tv.

The other quarterfinal match-ups have top-seeded and defending champion American International hosting Franklin Pierce, sixth-seeded New Haven at number three Adelphi, and Saint Anselm playing at crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire in the 4-5 match.

The highest remaining seed will host the final two rounds Saturday and Sunday. In the semifinals, the Bentley-Southern Connecticut winner will be paired against the Adelphi-New Haven winner and the AIC-Franklin Pierce victor will take on the Saint Anselm-SNHU winner.

Bentley, which will be seeking its first NE10 tournament championship since 2019, enters the postseason with a seven-match winning streak and a 15-1 record since mid-September. Twelve of the 15 wins during that stretch have been in straight sets.

Coach Joey Pacis' team is second in Division II in aces per set, averaging 2.62, and is also in the top 20 nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.123), total aces (245) and winning percentage (.821).

The Falcons, who remained number two in this week's NCAA Division II East Region rankings, feature the trio of graduate setter Amanda Parker (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North HS) and the last two NE10 Rookies of the Year, junior Ellie Wheeler (Olathe, Kans./Saint James Academy) and senior Ingrid Murphy (Cotuit/Barnstable HS).

The left-handed Parker stuffs the stat sheet in a number of categories, including assists (5.12), digs (2.22), kills (1.64), blocks (51) and aces (33). Wheeler hits .260 and has averaged 3.21 kills while Murphy's numbers include a .228 hitting percentage, 2.82 kills. 3.49 digs and 38 aces.

It's been a team effort this season with five players having at least 30 aces and the same number having at least 30 blocks. Sophomore libero Jazzy Burke (Lake George, N.Y./Lake George Central HS) leads the team in digs (4.01) and aces (43), and Elizabeth Blinn (Concord, N.H./Concord HS) having a strong freshman season that includes a .369 hitting percentage. Over the last five matches, Blinn has hit an even .500 with 22 kills in 14 sets.

Southern Connecticut finished the regular season at 16-14 after dropping three of its last four match. The Owls were 5-7 in conference play and were winless in nine contests against regionally-ranked opponents.

Senior Gabriella Gaibur is the only player in the NE10 with at least 300 kills and grad student Heliceliz Rivera is the only one with at least 150 kills, 150 digs and 150 assists.

This is the third straight year that the Falcons and Owls are squaring off in the NE10 quarters. Bentley prevailed in four sets both in 2019 and last year.

Tickets ($10 for adults, $5 for students) can be purchased online at https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/8512090/bentley-womens-volleyball-vstba-playoffs-waltham-dana-center.