The William Smith volleyball team will make its NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship debut as it heads to Cambridge, Massachusetts, this Thursday, Nov. 21. The Herons will take on New York University at 4:30 p.m in a first round match at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
 
The Herons and Violets are two of eight teams in the MIT Regional. The other six teams include the host Engineers, Maine Maritime, UMass Dartmouth, Colby, Messiah and La Verne. The matches will start at 11:30 a.m.
 
The winner of the William Smith-NYU match will take on either MIT or Maine Maritime on Friday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m.
 
Here is a quick look at the teams:
 
William Smith
Location: Geneva, New York 
Mascot: Herons
Overall Record: 22-6
Record at Neutral Sites: 6-2
Liberty League Record: 7-1
American Volleyball Coaches Association Rank: Receiving votes
How they reached the NCAA tournament: At-large bid
NCAA tournament record: First appearance
National Championships: 0
Head Coach: Derryk Williams (3rd year, 53-18 record)
Kills Leader: Malya Sayre (423 total, 4.03 K/S)
Assists Leader: Delainy Williams (1096 total, 10.44 A/S)
Points Leader: Sayre (499.5 total, 4.76 PTS/S)
Blocks Leader: Arielle Newsome (96.0 total, 0.92 BLK/S)
Digs Leader: Kali Vanderhoof (449 total, 4.28 DIG/S)
 
New York University
Location: New York City
Mascot: Violets
Overall Record: 21-12
Record at Neutral Sites: 5-3
Conference Record: 3-4
American Volleyball Coaches Association Rank: Receiving votes
How they reached the NCAA tournament: At-large bid
NCAA tournament record: 28-14 (14th appearance)
National Championships: 0
Head Coach: Andrew Brown (6th year at NYU, 161-50 record)
Kills Leader: Grace Nelson (388 total, 3.23 K/S)
Assists Leader: Ava Launsbach (638 total, 5.23 A/S)
Points Leader: Nelson (479.5 total, 4.00 PTS/S)
Blocks Leader: Jessica Spierenburg (106.0 total, 1.01 BLK/S)
Digs Leader: Yooni Park (643 total, 5.27 DIG/S)
 
 
MIT
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts 
Mascot: Engineers
Overall Record: 31-1
Record at Home: 18-1
Conference Record: 11-0
American Volleyball Coaches Association Rank: 4th
How they reached the NCAA tournament: At-large bid
NCAA tournament record: 28-23 (23rd appearance)
National Championships: 0
Head Coach: Paul Dill (28th year, 761-216 record)
Kills Leader: Julia Tolstova (270 total, 2.78 K/S)
Assists Leader: Kayleigh May (1043 total, 10.13 A/S)
Points Leader: Ella Gragg (318.5 total, 3.58 PTS/S)
Blocks Leader: Consecrata Rozario (86.0 total, 0.91 BLK/S)
Digs Leader: Ottavia Personeni (478 total, 4.39 DIG/S)
 
Maine Maritime
Location: Castine, Maine
Mascot: Mariners
Overall Record: 18-10
Record on the road: 7-7
Conference Record: 8-0
American Volleyball Coaches Association Rank: n/a
How they reached the NCAA tournament: Automatic bid
NCAA tournament record: 0-10 (11th appearance)
National Championships: 0
Head Coach: Heather Benson (1st year, 18-10 record)
Kills Leader: Sydney Williams (252 total, 2.86 K/S)
Assists Leader: Katie Albritton (499 total, 5.25 A/S)
Points Leader: Williams (303.0 total, 3.44 PTS/S)
Blocks Leader: Chloe Weeks (44.0 total, 0.49 BLK/S)
Digs Leader: Hannah Tate (324 total, 3.90 DIG/S)
 
La Verne
Location: La Verne, California
Mascot: Leopards
Overall Record: 23-5
Record at Neutral Sites: 1-1
Conference Record: 13-3
American Volleyball Coaches Association Rank: 13th
How they reached the NCAA tournament: Automatic bid
NCAA tournament record: 52-25  (28th appearance)
National Championships: 2
Head Coach: Jeff Hendershot (5th year, 90-46 record)
Kills Leader: Mya Ray (392 total, 4.26 K/S)
Assists Leader: Malia Capistrano (482 total, 4.97 A/S)
Points Leader: Ray (473.0 total, 5.14 PTS/S)
Blocks Leader: Zacky Coaston (140.0 total, 1.47 BLK/S)
Digs Leader: Ray (280 total, 3.04 DIG/S)
 
Messiah
Location: Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Mascot: Falcons
Overall Record: 24-7
Record at Neutral Sites: 4-3
Conference Record: 7-0
American Volleyball Coaches Association Rank: not ranked
How they reached the NCAA tournament: Automatic bid
NCAA tournament record: 0-2 (3rd appearance)
National Championships: 0
Head Coach: Holly Motheral (8th year, 164-82 record)
Kills Leader: Sarah Hart (284 total, 2.73 K/S)
Assists Leader: Emma Swartz (558 total, 5.17 A/S)
Points Leader: Hart (327.0 total, 3.14 PTS/S)
Blocks Leader: Katie Queensberry (90.0 total, 0.87 BLK/S)
Digs Leader: Caitlin Lielbriedis (583 total, 5.21 DIG/S)
 
Colby
Location: Waterville, Maine
Mascot: Mules
Overall Record: 24-3
Record at Neutral Sites: 5-1
Conference Record: 10-0
American Volleyball Coaches Association Rank: 15th
How they reached the NCAA tournament: At-large bid
NCAA tournament record: 3-1 (2nd appearance)
National Championships: 0
Head Coach: Lindsay Johnson (4th year, 65-32 record)
Kills Leader: Brady Moseley (258 total, 3.11 K/S)
Assists Leader: Gabby Grujic (487 total, 5.29 A/S)
Points Leader: Moseley (289.0 total, 3.48 PTS/S)
Blocks Leader: Sydney Bopp (94.0 total, 1.06 BLK/S)
Digs Leader: Reese Loyd (389 total, 3.97 DIG/S)
 
UMass Dartmouth
Location: Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Mascot: Corsairs
Overall Record: 23-6
Record at Neutral Site: 5-2
Conference Record: 7-1
American Volleyball Coaches Association Rank: n/a
How they reached the NCAA tournament: Automatic bid
NCAA tournament record: 0-1 (2nd appearance)
National Championships: 0
Head Coach: Justin Turco (3rd year, 62-21 record)
Kills Leader: Kate Wade (362 total, 3.62 K/S)
Assists Leader: Skye Peters (591 total, 5.91 A/S)
Points Leader: Wade (425.5 total, 4.26 PTS/S)
Blocks Leader: Maddie Carter (59.0 total, .98 BLK/S)
Digs Leader: Emily Pogorelec (536 total, 5.58 DIG/S)