LINCOLN, NE -- After advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament over the weekend, the University of Delaware volleyball team moved up to 3rd 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 sixth straight week.

Delaware, which won its first CAA Championship three weeks ago, participated in its first NCAA Tournament over the weekend. During their postseason appearance, the Blue Hens downed Princeton, 3-1, before falling to No. 18 ranked St. John’s, 3-1, in a close fought battle at the Carnesecca Arena in Queens, NY.

Delaware was one of five teams in the East to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Liberty and Florida A&M both lost in the first round, while Duke and Clemson advanced to the round of 32 before bowing out of the bracket.

The Blue Hens finished the season with a stellar 31-5 record. Their .861 winning percentage not only set a new school record, but it also shattered the previous mark of .826 set in 1977 when the team went 38-8.

This season Delaware also broke the school record for most kills-per-game (16.3), assists-per-game (14.8), and digs-per-game (19.8). The Hens also posted three winning streaks of at least nine matches and tied a school record after capturing 17 consecutive games between September 14 and September 28, highlighted by five straight 3-0 victories.

On an individual level, Steph Barry and Megan Welch (above) both broke long-standing school records. Barry, the conference’s top defensive specialist, smashed Delaware’s single-season digs record, topping the previous mark by over 100 after finishing with 831 digs. Welch, who was named the CAA Setter of the Year, set a new single-season assists mark with 1,714, breaking Nikki Brassell’s record of 1,695 set in 1994.

Colleen Walsh also became the first Blue Hen to record at least 500 kills in back-to-back seasons, and her 564 in 2007 marked the second highest total in program history.

Along with the upperclassmen, freshman Paige Erickson recorded 144 blocks this season, which marked the sixth highest total in Delaware history and the most by a rookie. Fellow freshman Katie Dennehy also placed second on the team with 422 kills. Her total was the ninth best in Blue Hen history and the highest by a freshman.

Six Delaware players also appeared in each of the Hens’ 130 games this season. Along with Walsh, Welch, Barry, and Erickson, Michelle LaLonde and Greta Gibboney also accomplished the feat. Only two players, Julie Earhart and Jessica Crook in 1989, appeared in every game during a longer season than those six did this year.

Along with Delaware, fellow CAA member Hofstra was ranked fifth in the East Region, while Northeastern came in 10th. James Madison, Georgia State, and William & Mary also placed among the top-20 teams in the region.

Clemson remained in the top spot in the East, while Duke came in a close second. Following Delaware, Georgia Tech and Hofstra rounded out the top-five.

AGATE:

2007 RichKern.com/AVCA Regional Rankings - East Division (December 4): 1. Clemson; 2. Duke; 3. Delaware; 4. Georgia Tech; 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. Boston College; 20. Miami.