Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware volleyball team advanced to the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament finals after downing James Madison, 3-1 (30-10, 30-28, 26-30, 30-24), during the Hens’ semifinal match on Saturday night at Viera Court.

Top-seeded Delaware will face No. 3 seed Hofstra (19-11) in the championship match after the Pride posted a 3-0 victory against the Northeastern Huskies (19-13) during their semifinal contest. Hofstra, who won the CAA Championship last season, was led by Lauren Engle, who had a match-high 13 kills and three blocks.

For Delaware, it will be the team’s second appearance in the CAA finals since joining the conference in 2001. Two years ago, the Hens advanced to the final match before falling to Towson, 3-0, in the title bout.

Against James Madison, Kelly Gibson (at right) led the Hens with 19 kills. She also added 13 digs for her 16th double-double this season. Katie Dennehy also chipped in with 17 kills and four blocks, while Colleen Walsh had 15 kills.

Delaware (29-4) came out firing in the first game, jumping out to a 15-7 lead. The Hens closed just as strongly, finishing the frame on a 15-3 run, which was capped off nicely by two straight aces by Steph Barry.

Up a game, the Hens were in a close battle during the second set. Delaware and James Madison fought to ten ties, including the last one at 28-28. Two points shy of another victory, Colleen Walsh took a pass from Megan Welch and slammed home her sixth kill of the game.

Leading by a point with the game on the line, Michelle LaLonde served up an ace to end the set, 30-28.

Following the intermission, James Madison took a commanding 19-13 lead in the third game. After the Dukes extended their lead to 24-16, the Hens rattled off five straight points and eight of the next 10 to pull within one at 26-25.

Down one, the Hens could not complete the comeback as James Madison notched four of the last five points to take the set, 30-26.

Still up a game, the Hens came out strong in the third frame, jumping out to an early 17-4 lead after reeling off nine straight points behind the strong serving of LaLonde. Trailing by 13, the Dukes battled hard the rest of the way, pulling within five at 28-23. However, the Hens notched two of the last three points behind kills by Gibson and Dennehy to capture the game, 30-24.

During the contest, setter Megan Welch had another strong performance, recording a match-high 60 assists for the Hens. Steph Barry also paced the team with 21 digs and three service aces, while LaLonde chipped in with eight kills and six blocks.

Greta Gibboney also added 10 digs for the Blue Hens, while Paige Erickson finished with five kills and three blocks. Jess Chason notched nine digs for the Hens as well.

James Madison (17-13) was led by Jena Pierson who recorded a match-high 40 digs. Allyson Halls also had 18 kills, while Lauren Miles added a team-high 45 assists.

Delaware and Hofstra will meet for the championship match tomorrow at Viera Court with the contest slated to begin at 5 p.m.

Delaware - James Madison Boxscore

Northeastern - Hofstra Boxscore