Delhi, N.Y.: The SUNY Cobleskill women's volleyball team played Cinderella on Halloween weekend as the Fighting Tigers stormed through the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Western Division portion of the conference championship tournament taking the NAC Western Division crown by defeating the Wildcats of the SUNY Polytechnic Institute 3-0 by set scores of 25-19, 25-15 and 25-15 in the opening round then upsetting the top-seeded host Broncos of SUNY Delhi 3-0 by set margins of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-23. After the weekend's festivities the Fighting Tigers improve to 12-13 overall on the campaign while the Wildcats conclude the year at 9-15 overall and the Broncos finish their season with a 21-6 overall mark.

In the opener versus the Wildcats the Cobleskill front line flexed its muscle as senior Jillian Nitchman, Ballston Spa, N.Y., Ballston Spa High School, posted a match high of 10 kills to go with five digs along with a service ace with sophomore outside hitter Mackenzie Larson, Winterset, Iowa, Winterset High School, chipping in nine kills, 17 digs and two total blocks and sophomore Alexis Miranda, Nashua, N.H., Nashua High School, going for eight kills, five total blocks and two digs. Sophomore outside hitter Abigail Scheurich, Oxford, Conn., Nonnewaug High School, was also a factor at the net with six kills, three total blocks and nine digs in the victory.

Senior setter Maleigha Ellithorpe, Cazenovia, N.Y., Cazenovia High School/Onondaga High School, quarterbacked the offense to perfection with 30 assists to go with six digs while sophomore libero Kelley Miller, Fort Mill, S.C., Fort Mill High School, added 14 digs, five service aces and two assists.

In the divisional championship contest, the Fighting Tigers clawed past the top seeded host Broncos, who had been undefeated during the conference's regular season at 8-0 and defeated Cobleskill twice by 3-1 margins in those regular season meetings, out battling the host school in all three sets.

Once again, the visitors front line did the bulk of the damage as Mackenzie Larson went for seven kills, seven service aces and 20 digs while Alexis Miranda pounded home seven kills along with five total blocks and three digs. Abigail Scheurich continued her strong play with seven kills and two digs with Jillian Nitchman going for five kills in the win.

The Fighting Tiger backrow also earned their strips in the upset as Maleigha Ellithorpe went for 22 assists, 14 digs, two kills and two service aces, Kelley Miller adding 11 digs and three aces and sophomore defensive specialist Victoria O'Bar, Middlebury, Conn., Nonnewaug High School, chipping in eight digs and two service aces.

On his team's championship winning effort a euphoric Cobleskill Head Coach Scott Hill had much to say.

"We are peaking at the right time as evidenced by this weekend's outstanding performance. Our defense has been much more aggressive which has led to better offensive opportunities for us." Said Hill. "I am extremely proud of our team's effort this weekend. They played their hearts out and left nothing to chance. Now we are heading north to see what can be accomplished."

The Fighting Tigers will next travel to Castine, Maine on Saturday November 6 to meet the NAC Eastern Division Champion Privateers of the Maine Maritime Academy with first serve at 12:00 p.m. for the NAC overall championship and the NCAA Division III Tournament automatic bid that goes with it.