Owls set for semifinal LEC tournament match against Beacons

KEENE, N.H. 11/2/11- Going into the season, the Keene State women's volleyball team had a feeling that the road to the Little East Championship went through UMass-Boston.  Little did they expect having to make a detour and meet  the Beacons this Saturday at Plymouth State's Foley Gymnasium?

But when the Panthers upset UMass-Boston earlier this season the site of the semifinal and finals of the LEC women's volleyball tournament moved to Plymouth.  And that's just fine with KSC Coach Bob Weiner.  "We haven't had much luck against UMass-Boston lately on their home court, so maybe our fortunes will change up in Plymouth," he said.

The third seeded Owls (18-12) will take on second seed UMass-Boston (24-4) in the second semifinal game at 4 p.m.  Host and top seed Plymouth State (22-9) faces fifth seed Eastern Conn. (20-9) in the first game at 2 p.m.

The two semifinal winners will meet in championship game on Sunday (12 p.m.)

Keene State, which defeated sixth seed Rhode Island College 3-1 in its quarterfinal match on Tuesday, has had its hands full trying to short circuit the nationally-ranked Beacon, ranked 20th in the latest AVCA poll.  Since joining the LEC in 1997, KSC is 11-6 against the Beacons.  The Owls won eight straight matches against UMB from 2002-2008, including the LEC championship in 2008.  Since that time, the Owls have dropped their last four matches against the Beacons, including a 3-1 loss in last year's LEC finals and a 3-0 setback earlier this season at UMB's Clark Athletic Center.

Keene State senior Bridget O'Bryant is looking forward to getting one more crack at UMass-Boston, which earned a first-round bye.  "They're going to be a tough team to beat," she said.  "We stayed with them in all three games we played against them earlier this season, but we need to learn how to finish.  We need to prove to ourselves we can beat them."

"When we played them before we were tense and timid going after the ball and didn't get a jump on them," said senior setter Laurie Whalen.  They're a good team, but we need to go into the match feeling like we're a good team too."

The Owls will spend the rest of the week preparing for the Beacons.  "We actually did a good job stopping them, but didn't do much offensively," said Weiner, recalling the match.  "If we do that again, we're in trouble.  "But I think we'll hit much better.  They play good defense against us, so we need to diversify our offense."

Looking for their first LEC title since 2004, Plymouth State defeated Eastern Conn. 3-0 earlier this season.  The Warriors upset fourth seed Western Conn. 3-2 in their quarterfinal match.