Penn State Behrend Volleyball Set to Host 2008 AMCC Tournament

The Penn State Behrend volleyball team will host the 2008 AMCC Volleyball Championship tournament Friday, November 7 and Saturday, November 8 at the Junker Center.  Behrend (21-8) earned the #1 seed and right to host by posting a perfect 9-0 mark in the conference during the regular season, collecting the program's third regular season conference title in the past four seasons. 

The blue and white will face #4 Pitt-Bradford (15-13) at 6:00 p.m. on Friday in the first semifinal.  Behrend defeated Pitt-Bradford 3-1 on October 29 in the Junker Center.  In the second semifinal, #2 Frostburg State (27-5) will meet up with #3 Pitt-Greensburg (13-9) at 8:00 p.m.  Frostburg State beat Pitt-Greensburg 3-1 during the regular season on October 21.  Friday's semifinal winners will play for the championship on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in the Junker Center. 

Behrend will be led by junior setter Brooke Gallentine (Mt. Pleasant, PA/Southmoreland) who was recently named the AMCC and ECAC Southern Region volleyball player of the week.  Gallentine leads the Behrend Lions with 874 total assists on the season (8.74 apg). Offensively, the blue and white will look for big performances by junior middle hitter Sheila Ogden and freshman outside hitter Lauren Dalton (Cochranton/Cochranton).  Ogden has pounded out 268 kills while Dalton has hammered 258 kills this season.  Defensively, Behrend is led by Stefanie Kelley (Moon Township/Moon) who has collected 338 digs, Liz Emerick (Hopewell/Hopewell) who has tallied 313 digs, and Danielle Woods (Pittsburgh/Baldwin) who has 287 digs for the year.  The squad will also look for big plays from senior defensive specialist Brittany Hennessy (Hopewell/Hopewell) and junior outside hitter Carissa Johnston (Cambridge Springs/Cambridge Springs) who have both battled back through injuries to make an impact down the stretch.

Frostburg State is the defending AMCC Champions, while Behrend last won the AMCC championship in 2005.  The 2008 AMCC Champion will receive the conference's automatic bid to the Division III NCAA Tournament next week.