Madison, N.J. (November 17)- The fourth-seeded FDU-Florham Volleyball team is set to match up with first-seeded William Paterson on Saturday, November 18 at 11:00 am in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Women's Volleyball Championship tournament at William Paterson University.

The matchup will be the second time this season that the Devils and the Pioneers will face off against each other. WPU got the better of FDU on October 14 with a clean 3-0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-18) sweep. All-time, William Paterson has an undefeated record against FDU-Florham, winning all three contests they have faced each other.
 
Scouting the Devils
 
The Devils enter ECACs with a 14-13 record and are coming off a win in their final regular season match where they defeated King's, 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-16, 26-24).  The Devils had a tough time in conference play this season and fell short of the MAC Freedom tournament.

FDU-Florham is led by head coach Jason Madsen who is in his seventh season at the helm has produced an overall record of 88-82.

Offensively, the Devils attack is led by the presence of middle blockers Rachel Reiter (Riverside, Calif.) and Gabbie Hart (Cherry Hill, N.J.). Reiter leads the team in kills with 154 (1.79 per set) followed closely by Hart who registered 152 kills and a team best 1.82 kills per set. Also, a threat on the outside in Arianna Wood (Wayne, N.J.), who in her first season as a Devil, knocked down 136 kills with 1.72 kills per set. Setting up the offense for the Devils is Victoria Carrico (Mountainside, N.J.) who has notched 402 assists (4.37 assists per set) as a first-year setter. Always a threat to score on the serve too is Charlotte Fruscione (Mahwah, N.J.) who led the MAC Freedom in service aces per set with .73 and a total of 70 that ranked second in the league.

Defensively, Fruscione has had a great season in the back row for the Devils, ranking sixth in the conference with 3.81 digs per set and seventh in total digs with 366 on the season. The Devils have also gotten a great defensive presence from Hart, who led the team in the regular season in blocks with 42 on the year while Reiter also tallied 34 blocks herself.

Scouting the Pioneers

William Paterson notched the top seed in the ECAC tournament after finishing the regular season with a 25-6 record, the most wins the program has had since 1988. The team also made it to the New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament this season and the Pioneers won in their quarterfinal matchup against Rowan, 3-1 but fell in the semifinals against Stockton, 3-1.

The Pioneers are led by Head Coach Kevin Rodgers who, in his third season with the team, led them to the playoffs for the second time in three years, improved the team record by 13 wins from a season ago and was at the forefront of helping lead his staff which earned the NJAC's Joy Solomen Co-Coaching Staffs of the Year award along side Stockton's staff.

Offensively, WPU is led by the swing of first team All-NJAC outsider hitter Cecilia Miller who led the NJAC in points scored (425), kills per set (3.70) and ranked second in total kills (370). Not far behind her is outside hitter Natalie Zabloudil, who was selected to the All-NJAC second team, finished right behind Miller in points per set (4.16), ranked third in kills per set (340), third in total points (407.5) and fourth in total kills (333). Setting up the offense is the setting work of Abby Houpt who led the NJAC in assists per set (10.18) and second in total assists (977) and earned an All-NJAC Honorable Mention accolade. Houpt is also a very efficient server, ranking second in her conference in total service aces (68) and service aces per set (0.71).

Defensively, the Pioneers are fore fronted by the NJAC Defensive Player of the Year Paola Molina. Molina averaged 4.84 digs per set and 460 total digs that both ranked second in their league and also earned her a second team All-NJAC selection. William Paterson is also strong at the net as Sofia Zablackis led the NJAC in blocks per set (1.16) and second in total blocks with 113 on the season.

The winner of this matchup will face the winner of the following match between second-seeded Alleghany and third-seeded Penn State-Behrend at 1:30 pm. The Championship match will be played the same day at 3:00 pm and be crowned ECAC Division III Women's Volleyball Champions.

For the latest on FDU-Florham Athletics, follow the Devils via social media (@FDUDevils) on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.