NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware will host the 2007 Colonial Athletic Association Championship volleyball tournament on Friday, November 16, through Sunday, November 19, at Viera Court in the Carpenter Sports Building on North Campus.

Delaware (28-4, 12-2 CAA) earned the right to host the championship after winning the CAA regular season title last Friday.

The first round of the tournament is slated to begin on Friday at 5 p.m. with No. 4 William & Mary facing No. 5 James Madison. That match will be followed by the 7:30 showdown between No. 3 Hofstra and No. 6 George Mason.

The second round of the tournament is scheduled for Saturday, November 17. As the No. 1 seed, the Blue Hens will play their first match of the championship against the winner of the William & Mary - James Madison contest at 5 p.m.

That match will be followed by the other semifinal action pitting the No. 2 Northeastern Huskies against the winner of the Hofstra - George Mason contest at 7:30 p.m.

The winner of the two semifinal matches will meet for the championship bout on Sunday, November 18, at 5 p.m.

The CAA Conference champion will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, which begins on November 29 at campus sites.

Tickets for the CAA volleyball tournament are $5 for adults, $3 for children, and free for students of CAA schools with a valid ID.

Delaware is led by senior co-captains Colleen Walsh and Megan Welch. Walsh, the Blue Hens’ all-time career kills leader with 1,802, currently leads the CAA with 510 kills and a 4.47 kills-per-game average. Named the ECAC and CAA Volleyball Player of the Week on Oct. 1, she earned Preseason All-CAA accolades this year and recently was selected to the first team ESPN the Magazine / CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 team.

Welch, the CAA Player of the Week on Sept. 17, currently leads the conference with 1,501 assists and a 13.17 assists-per-game average. She is also third on the team with 25 service aces and 300 digs. The Most Valuable Player of the Coastal Carolina Invitational earlier this season, she tied her career-high with 69 assists last week against William & Mary.

The Hens are also helped by juniors Kelly Gibson and Molly Rand (at right) as well as sophomore Steph Barry.

Gibson, the reigning CAA Player of the Week, is second on the team with 338 digs and third on the squad with 313 kills. Rand, an ESPN the Magazine / CoSIDA Academic All-American nominee, has recorded 146 digs, 108 kills, 31 blocks, and 13 service aces this season. In the New Orleans Invitational, she made the All-Tournament team after recording 21 kills, eight digs, and four blocks during the two-day tournament.

Barry, the Hen’s libero, leads both the team and conference with 734 digs and 57 service aces.

For Delaware, it was the first time the Hens won the CAA regular season championship. It also marked just the third regular season title in team history. Delaware won back-to-back North Atlantic Conference championships in 1994 and 1995.

The Hens are also just the third Delaware team to enter the CAA playoffs as the top seed. The 2004-05 women’s basketball team and the 2005 men’s lacrosse team were the only other squads to accomplish the feat.