MARCY, N.Y. - The Gallaudet University women's volleyball team moved one step closer to claiming a sixth North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) championship as the Bison defeated Wells College, 3-1, here Saturday on the campus of SUNY Polytechnic Institute in the NEAC tournament semifinal round. The third-seed Bison (22-12) got revenge over the second-seed Express (18-11), who defeated Gallaudet 3-2 in the regular season, by winning the first two sets en route to the 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 25-23 victory.

Gallaudet will face top-seed SUNY Poly (26-4) tomorrow (Sunday, Nov. 8) in the conference championship match. The Wildcats beat fifth-seed Keuka College in four sets; 22-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-12.

Sophomore Darriyan Thomas (Vallejo, Calif.) posted a game-high 24 kills and 10 digs for her 16th double-double of the season. Four different Bison had 10 or more kills and three different players had two or more service aces. Gallaudet served up 11 service aces in the win. Sophomore Kylene Etkie (Austin, Texas) led the service game with five aces while freshman Raelyn Fuechtmann (South St. Paul, Minn.) had four aces and nine digs. Senior Danielle Morris (St. Louis, Mich.) posted her sixth double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs.

Wells was led by Vashti Nettles' 13 kills and six block assists and Meredith Kadjeski's 10 kills and three block assists. Anuhea Leite-Ah Yo, the 2015 NEAC Defensive Player of the Year, only had six kills, seven digs and five receiving errors.

BISON TRACKS

• Senior TraciAnn Hoglind (Fishers, Ind.) passed out 50 assists
• Senior Molly Perkins (Apple Valley, Minn.) had 11 kills
• Freshman Tessa Lewis (Frederick, Md.) added 10 kills
• Senior Kate Fetzer (Noblesville, Ind.) made 14 digs
• Gallaudet is now 3-3 in four-set matches
• The Bison improve to 13-1 on neutral courts
• GU is 12-0 all-time in the NEAC tournament
• This was the first time GU faced Wells in the NEAC tournament
• This is the seventh straight year the Bison have won 22 games

QUOTABLE
"I was glad to see how the players responded to the ball and picked it up well throughout the match. The serving game helped us a lot, we were in better position. Raelyn stepped up with some amazing serves. Also, proud of Danielle on defense and her receiving game." - Lynn Ray Boren, Gallaudet women's volleyball head coach

UP NEXT
For a sixth straight year Gallaudet will appear in the NEAC championship match. The Bison will have to get by the top-seed Wildcats. It was SUNY Poly who spoiled Gallaudet's Homecoming match with a 3-2 win two weeks ago in the Field House. GU last faced the Wildcats in the NEAC tournament in the 2013 championship match where GU waltzed to a 3-0 win.