Volleyball Hall of Fame Invitational (Day 1)

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Oct. 23, 2009) – The 2009 Volleyball Hall of Fame Women’s Invitational kicked off with eight matches this evening. A total of 16 teams are participating in the tournament, which is being hosted by Smith College and Mount Holyoke College. Now in its 18th year, the tournament has been broken up into two eight team brackets. Prior to the beginning of the event, the teams were ranked based on their results thus far this season. The top eight teams are competing in the “Gold Bracket” at Smith, while the next eight are playing in the “Silver Bracket” at Mount Holyoke.

Top seeded Tufts University, second seeded Williams College, fourth seeded MIT and sixth seeded Amherst College all claimed victories in the Gold Bracket. After splitting the first two sets and struggling to win the third, Tufts held on to defeat eighth seeded Smith 3-1. Meanwhile, Williams topped seventh seeded Wellesley College 3-0. The remaining matches both went the distance. After dropping the first two sets to fifth seeded Brandeis University, MIT rebounded to take the next three en route to their 3-2 win. Amherst also prevailed 3-2, as it upset third seeded Springfield College in one of the tightest contests of the night.

As a result of their victories this evening, Tufts and MIT will meet in the winner’s bracket tomorrow. The other winner’s bracket matchup will feature longtime rivals Amherst and Williams. Smith will face off against Brandeis, and Wellesley will battle Springfield in the loser’s bracket.

In the Silver Bracket, top seeded Middlebury College and second seeded Bowdoin College each picked up 3-0 triumphs. Middlebury downed eighth seeded Mount Holyoke, while Bowdoin upended seventh seeded Gordon College. Fifth seeded Westfield State College and sixth seeded Bridgewater State College each pulled off upset victories in their matches. Westfield State dropped the first set to fourth seeded Colby College but rebounded to win 3-1. Meanwhile, Bridgewater State glided to a 3-0 triumph over third seeded Wheaton College.

Looking forward to tomorrow, Middlebury will face off against Westfield State, and Bowdoin will take on Bridgewater State in the winner’s bracket contests. In the loser’s bracket, Mount Holyoke will clash with Colby, and Gordon will meet Wheaton.

The tournament will conclude tomorrow with all 16 teams playing two matches apiece.