New York, NY – The top seeded Hunter College Hawks (17-14, 8-0 CUNYAC) are set to square off against the #4 seeded Bulldogs of Brooklyn College (9-21, 5-3 CUNYAC) in the semifinal round of the 2016 CUNYAC/Pepsi Women's Volleyball Championship. First serve in the match will be at 6pm while host school and #2 seed Baruch will take on #3 John Jay in the first semifinal matchup scheduled for a 4pm start.
 
The Hawks earned the top spot by way of a perfect 8-0 mark in conference action while Brooklyn secured the four seed with their 5-3 CUNYAC record. In the quarterfinals, the Bulldogs defeated #5 CSI in straight 3-0 sets to advance to the semis. Earlier this year on September 10, the Purple and Gold emerged with a convincing 3-0 victory over Brooklyn in their only other meeting of the season.
 
Hunter has been dominant in conference play and has not dropped a single set to any of their challengers. As a team, they lead the CUNYAC in six major categories including hitting percentage (.167), opponent hitting percentage (.129), assists (1,061), assists per set (9.47), kills (1,159) and kills per set (10.35).
 
Individually, Julia Connolly has been solid for the Purple and Gold all year long and leads her team and the conference in kills with 403, kills per set with 3.70, and is second in hitting percentage with .217 which is just behind teammate Samantha Barrett's top mark of .286. Additionally, the three-time player of the week achieved the 1,000 kill milestone on September 29^th against Vassar College. She currently has 1,147 total kills to her name heading into the semifinals.
 
Outside hitter Taylor Kerr-Haiduk has also been impressive for the Hawks this season. The sophomore leads the team with 55 service aces and has 377 kills to her name. Teammate Breanna Banske has been handling the setting duties all season long and is tops in the league with a total of 886 assists. On the defensive end, four-time Libero of the Week, Haley Trunkett, boasts a team-high 377 digs heading into post-season play.
 
If the Hawks win, they will face the winner of #2 Baruch vs. #3 John Jay. The Championship game will be played at 8pm.
 
The Hunter Athletic Department will be hosting a pep rally at 6pm at the Brookdale Gymnasium where free pizza and t-shirts will be distributed. At 6:30, there will be a parade to the gym at Baruch.
 
Tickets to the game are free but fans are encouraged to register for tickets in advance at www.CUNYAthletics.com/tickets.
 
If you can't make the game, you can watch a Live Stream here and follow Live Stats here.