SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – After pulling off the only upset of the first round, the sixth-seeded Union College women's volleyball team will head to Ithaca looking to keep the magic going at the Liberty League Tournament. Union will take on second-seeded and defending champion Clarkson University in the semifinal round on Friday at 4 p.m.
 
FINAL FOUR: Union and Clarkson will face off in the first semifinal at 4 p.m., followed by top-seeded Ithaca College and fourth-seeded Rochester Institute of Technology in the second semifinal. The winners advance to the championship game on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE: For those that can't make it to Ithaca, live stats and live video will be available for Friday's contest.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Union is making its fifth appearance in the Liberty League Tournament since the postseason switched to its current qualification format in 2011. Union is making its third appearance in the semifinals and is 3-4 in those five appearances (2013-16, 2022). Union is 31-39 all-time in Liberty League Tournament play, including back-to-back Liberty League titles in 2007 and 2008 that saw Union go 4-0 each season.

LAST TIME OUT: In the first Liberty League Volleyball Tournament to feature six teams, Union became the first six seed to win with a thrilling 3-2 (25-20, 15-25, 25-20, 23-25, 17-15) victory over third-seeded William Smith College in Geneva. First-year Shannon McGrath and junior Keara Page led the team with 17 and 15 kills, respectively, while senior Haley Kresch had the team's lone double-double with a season-high 32 assists and 12 digs. First-year Georgia Pool added a game-high 22 digs and senior Denesha Lafontant recorded a match-best five blocks for Union as well in the win.
 
Union became just the fourth sixth seed in any sport to advance in a Liberty League Tournament and just the second to win a game outright against a third seed, joining Skidmore College men's soccer (2021 vs. RIT). Two other six seeds advanced in penalty kicks after finishing in a tie.
 
UNION VS. CLARKSON: Union and Clarkson have a slightly longer history than Union's last opponent, having faced off 81 times on the court since the first meeting in 1977. While Union owns a 43-38 edge in the all-time series, the Golden Knights have dominated recently, winning six straight matches and 19 of the last 20. In an odd twist, Clarkson has eliminated Union from each of its last four Liberty League Tournament appearances, but the teams are 10-10 all-time in conference tournament play.

LAST MEETING: Union closed out its home slate against Clarkson on October 14, with the Golden Knights spoiling Senior Day with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-17) win. Playing without first-year Shannon McGrath, Union was led by juniors Keara Page and Nikki Newcomer with seven kills each and first-year Georgia Pool with 18 digs. Allyson Treichel put down 16 kills on .483 hitting and Sara Galante added 12 kills for Clarkson in the win.
 
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Clarkson is the two-time defending conference champion and has dominated the conference in recent years, winning eight of the last nine Liberty League Tournament titles. Kristin Werdine leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference by averaging 3.04 kills per set (255 total) and also ranks fourth in aces per set (0.60) and sixth in digs per set (3.08). Allyson Treichel has the third-best hitting percentage in the Liberty League at .292 with 222 kills and only 68 errors, while Isabelle Crow ranks in the top-10 in the conference in both aces (46) and assists (781).
 
1K FOR KRESCH: Senior Haley Kresch became the 11th player in program history to record 1,000 career assists on Saturday in the 3-1 win over Plattsburgh State University, doing so in just three seasons. She added 32 assists on Tuesday at William Smith to move into 10th place on Union's all-time assists list with 1,067 in just 197 sets, while her career average of 5.42 assists per set ranks seventh all-time at the school.
 
FIRST-YEAR FORCE: First-year Shannon McGrath continues to lead Union in kills and service aces despite missing six matches (24 sets) this year. She is the only player in the top-four of the Liberty League in kills per set (3.54) and aces per set (0.61), ranking third in both categories. She averaged 4.3 kills per set on .360 hitting and 3.25 digs per set in the first three conference matches before missing the next four.
 
SHE'D BE HONORED: McGrath has earned a trio of Liberty League weekly honors so far this season. She was named conference Player of the Week on September 12 after putting down 53 kills in four matches, and then earned Rookie of the Week laurels on both October 3 and October 31. McGrath is the only first-year volleyball player to win conference Player of the Week honors this season.
 
JUST DIG IT: First-year Georgia Pool ranks fifth in the Liberty League by averaging 3.71 digs per set so far this season. She is one of only three Liberty League players to record at least 300 digs this season.
 
NEW COACH IN TOWN: Head coach Annie DeLoid is in her first season at the helm of the women's volleyball program after spending three years as an assistant coach at Stevens Institute of Technology. The team got off to one of the best starts in program history by winning its first four matches of the season and the team posted its second-most conference wins since 2016 this year.