LINCOLN, NE -- The University of Delaware volleyball team remained 4th in the East Region in this week’s RichKern.com/American Volleyball Coaches Association poll announced today.

The rankings, which are based on the Rich Kern Percentage Index, include teams from the Atlantic Coast, Big South, and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conferences as well as the Colonial Athletic Association.

The Hens are the highest ranked team from the CAA for the fifth straight week.

Delaware, which won its first CAA Championship two weeks ago, will participate in its first NCAA Tournament this Friday when the Hens travel to St. John’s University in Queens, NY to take on Princeton at 6 p.m.

The winner of the Delaware - Princeton matchup will advance to the second round to take on either St. John’s or Long Island at 8 p.m on Saturday.

The Blue Hens finished the regular season with a 30-4 record. Delaware is one of just four teams in Division I volleyball to win 30 or more matches this season, joining Dayton, Middle Tennessee St., and Saint John’s.

Delaware’s .882 winning percentage is also the 11th best in the NCAA and the highest in program history.

The Hens are led by sophomore libero Stephanie Barry (above), who finished the regular season ranked 5th in the country with a 6.3 digs-per-game average. She also led the conference with 61 service aces and is currently 40th in the country with a 0.50 aces-per-game mark.

Senior co-captain Megan Welch, who was named the CAA’s top setter, also stands 19th in the nation in assists-per-game after posting a 13.16 average through the conference tournament.

Fellow co-captain Colleen Walsh also leads Delaware with 543 kills, while Michelle LaLonde has a team-best .318 attack percentage. Freshman Paige Erickson also has recorded 137 blocks, which is the seventh highest single season total in program history.

Along with Delaware, St. John’s, who will host the Blue Hens in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, was selected second in the Northeast Region and 10th in the entire country. Princeton and Long Island, the two other squads in Delaware’s four-team pod, were chosen 7th and 17th in their regions, respectively.

Clemson remained in the top spot in the East, while Duke, Georgia Tech, and Hofstra rounded out the top-five.

Stanford, who was selected as the Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, also earned the top-spot in the national RichKern rankings.

AGATE:

2007 RichKern.com/AVCA Regional Rankings - East Division (November 27): 1. Clemson; 2. Duke; 3. Georgia Tech; 4. Delaware; 5. Hofstra; 6. Liberty; 7. Florida State; 8. Virginia; 9. North Carolina; 10. Northeastern; 11. Maryland; 12. James Madison; 13. Winthrop; 14. Virginia Tech; 15. Georgia State; 16. William & Mary; 17. Maryland Eastern Shore; 18. Florida A&M; 19. Miami; 20. Boston College.