BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin College volleyball team will play Wesleyan on Friday night in the semifinals of the 2023 NESCAC Championship in Middletown, Conn. Match time is set for 5:00 p.m. The other semifinal match is between Tufts and Williams at 7:30 p.m. with Friday's winners playing Saturday at 3:00 p.m. for the conference title.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All three matches will be streamed and can be viewed on mobile devices, computers, or OTT apps (Roku, AppleTV, AmazonFireTV). Go to the app store on your favorite device and search for NESCAC Network, download the app, and start watching. Live stats and a full recap will be available at GoUBears.com.
 
ABOUT THE POLAR BEARS
Bowdoin, as the No. 10 seed, is the lowest seed to advance to the NESCAC Semifinals and is making its 10th semifinal appearance in 12 tournaments. The Polar Bears upset No. 7 Hamilton in Clinton, N.Y., 3-1 (25-17, 15-25, 25-19, 25-11), in a first-round match and then traveled to Waterville, Maine and upset No. 2 Colby with a reverse sweep, 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-16).
 
Rookie Skye LaMendola ranks second in the NESCAC in kills per set (4.05) and is hitting .234 for the Polar Bears. Senior Lauren Lange paces the Polar Bears on the attack, hitting .282, while senior Ella Haugen leads the conference in assists per set (9.65) and has totaled a team-best 34 aces. The Polar Bears stand at 13-9 overall and have won five of their last six matches.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Wesleyan owns a 3-2 record against the Polar Bears all-time in the conference tournament. The teams last met in the postseason in the 2021 championship match with Bowdoin posting a 3-1 win. Wesleyan defeated Bowdoin, 3-1, at Silloway Gymnasium on October 14 in this year's regular season meeting. The Polar Bears had won four straight in the series prior to that win by the Cardinals. Bowdoin is aiming for its fifth conference crown while Wesleyan is looking to claim their second NESCAC title in program history.