ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– It will be kind of the same, but different. Eastern University Volleyball is set to play DeSales University for the MAC Freedom Championship on the first Saturday in November. This is the 24th consecutive Conference Championship match for Eastern Volleyball (19-12). It is the first time since 1996, that the Eagles will be on the road for the match.
Eastern played at DeSales (then Allentown College) for the PAC Championship games in 1995 and 1996. The rivalry renewed when Eastern joined the MAC Freedom in 2008. The two schools have met in St. Davids for the postseason in each of the first nine seasons since Eastern joined the league, and the Eagles have won all nine of those matches. Eight times, the match was the MAC Freedom Championship Match.
The Bulldogs (22-9) earned the right to host with a five-set win at Eastern in September. DeSales won the first two sets 26-24 and 31-29 before the Eagles rallied to take the next two sets 25-14 and 25-18. The Bulldogs jumped to an early lead in the fifth set and held on to win 15-11.
Eastern, the second seed, cruised through its opening round with a three-set win over FDU-Florham. The Eagles hit .488 in the match and allowed the Devils to score just one point on serve in each set.
Caroline Shelby had 20 kills.
The top-seeded Bulldogs dropped the second set to King's before winning in four with convincing efforts in the final two sets. DeSales hit .654 in the final set and .247 for the match. Noel Kelly powered home a match-high 19 kills. Gabby Savité, the MAC Freedom Player of the Year, finished with 15 kills, 22 digs and a block.
The winner of the MAC Freedom Championship will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Eastern has played in 17 of the last 18 NCAA Tournaments.
The match will start at 2:00 PM in Billera Hall on the Campus of DeSales University. Tickets will be $5 for adults, $4 for Seniors, and $2 for students. DeSales will be streaming the event and providing livestats. Links for both are on the Eastern Volleyball Schedule page.
