CLINTON, NY –The Amherst College volleyball team finished the regular season atop the NESCAC standings for the first time since 2007 with a 3-1 win at Hamilton this afternoon. The 23-2 Lord Jeffs will host the 2010 conference championship after going 9-1 in the NESCAC.

Amherst dropped the opening set to Hamilton 28-26, before rolling off three straight wins 25-17, 25-10, and 25-7 to clinch the victory. The loss dropped the Continentals to 1-9 in conference play, and eliminates them from playoff contention. 

Leading the Jeffs to the win once again was the outside-hitting combination of Cristy Meier (San Anselmo, CA) and Katherine Kanoff (Pacific Palisades, CA) with 15 and 11 kills, respectively. Meier added three blocks in the win as well. Senior Jackie Berkley (Fullerton, CA) added 12 monster put-aways from the middle-hitter spot. Sophomore setter Callie Neilson (Escondido, CA) had 52 assists in four sets of work, while senior tri-captain Rachel Yorke (Los Angeles, CA) paced the defense with 29 digs.

Hamilton was led by 11 kills from each Brenna Corrigan and Megan McCareins, while the pair combined for 53 digs. Rachel Irizarry had another 15 digs for the Continentals while Ally Martella led the front line with a pair of blocks. Meredith Nuber had a team-high 14 kills, while Sarah Pfund and Cecelie Pikus combined for 36 assists. 

The NESCAC Championship will open up on Friday evening at 5 p.m. with a pair of matches in LeFrak Gymnasium. Amherst will face No. 8 Wesleyan in the opening round.