Hawks Win Twice; Volleyball Teams Go 4-9

11/2/2013 7:01:00 PM

Hartwick v Lasell | Bard
artwick's women's volleyball team won twice on Saturday in the second day of competition at the Oneonta State Dig Pink Invitational at Dewar Arena.

The Hawks, after dropping a pair of 3-2 heartbreakers on Friday, took down Lasell College three sets to one, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 25-14, in their opening match. In the second match, 'Wick rolled past Bard College in three, 25-19, 25-12, 25-15.

In 'Wick's opener against the Lasers, freshman Hannah Armstrong would dish out a career-high 51 assists. She also added 14 digs.

Junior Dana Martin and sophomores Hannah Strom andTaylor Vonasek combined for 38 kills. Martin picked up a team-best 16 kills and she also had a team-high 20 digs. Strom contributed 12 kills and 17 digs and Vonasek notched 10 kills and five blocks.

Mary Beth DeCuyke chipped in with seven kills and Christina Vitale had 13 digs.

Strom led a balanced offense in the Hawks' final match against the Raptors with nine kills. Vonasek recorded six kills and Martin, DeCuyke, and Katie Ryan each had five.

Vitale would secure nine digs in her final match as a Hawk. Armstrong distributed 27 assists, Martin had five aces, and Vonasek registered five blocks.


Stevens v Rochester
The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team closed out the 2013 regular season with a 3-1 victory over the University of Rochester on Saturday in the New York State Challenge hosted by RIT. Stevens finishes the regular season with a 26-6 ledger which ties for the sixth-most wins in school history.

In the four-set triumph over Rochester, 25-11, 18-25, 25-23, 25-16, senior Mary Caulson tied for a match-best 16 kills on 39 attempts and only two errors (.359 hitting percentage). Caulson also tallied nine digs and three service aces.

Junior Katie Hall and freshman Christina Sciarra each posted nine kills. Hall hit a match-high .438 to go along with four total blocks (three solo), two digs and an ace, while Sciarra added two blocks.

Senior Samantha Gates dished out 44 assists in the match with six digs and two aces. Junior Kirsten Salmins  anchored the defense with 23 digs and two aces.

Freshman Mary Tobin contributed 12 digs and eight kills, while classmate Jovanna Manzari chipped in three digs and two kills in one set played.

Stevens hit .281 as a team and tallied 10 aces. The Ducks also put down eight total blocks in the match.


Nazareth v Clarkson | St. Lawrence
Nazareth opened the second day of the New York Regional Challenge at RIT with a four-set loss to 24th-ranked Clarkson before sweeping St. Lawrence. The scores of the non-conference match against Clarkson were 25-4, 25-12, 23-25, 25-20. Against St. Lawrence, the Golden Flyers won by the scores of 25-15, 25-15, 28-26.

Following the weekend challenge, Nazareth stands at 27-8 overall. With the victory, Clarkson improves to 31-6 overall with the victory. It was the 13th consecutive victory for the Golden Knights. St. Lawrence fell to 21-11 overall with the loss.

Junior Kassandra Buseck and freshman Cady Messmer each had eight kills to lead the Golden Flyers against Clarkson. In addition to the kills from Buseck and Messmer, juniors Maria Allocco and Olivia Harrigan each added five kills. Freshman Madi Wickens finished the match with 16 assists while junior Katherine Race had 14 digs.

Against St. Lawrence, Buseck recorded a team-high 13 kills, followed by seven kills by Harrigan. In addition to her kills, Harrigan also had nine digs and three service aces. Allocco and Messmer also contributed six kills and five kills, respectively. Wickens was the Golden Flyers' primary setter again against the Saints. Thayer finished with a team-high 14 digs.

The Golden Flyers' attack converted 10 kills in the second set and 17 kills in the third set to secure the victory.


Ithaca v Oneonta | Plattsburgh
The Ithaca College volleyball team (16-21) dropped a pair of matches Saturday in the Gold Bracket of the Dig Pink Invitational. The Bombers fell to host Oneonta (17-18), 3-1 (25-15, 12-25, 25-23, 25-17), before suffering a 3-1 (25-16, 27-29, 25-17, 25-13) setback to Plattsburgh (16-13).

Against the Red Dragons, junior Rylie Bean (Blasdell, N.Y./Frontier) and freshman Shaelynn Schmidt (Piney Point, Md./Patuxent) led Ithaca with nine kills apiece, while sophomore Carly Garone (East Moriches, N.Y./St. Anthony's) set for a team-best 17 assists. Defensively, senior Justine Duryea (Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y./Cornwall Central) dug 11 balls and freshman Myan Idziur (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) nine. At the net, rookie Siobhan Sorensen (Castleton, N.Y./Maple Hill) posted four block assists.

In the second match of the day, Duryea led the Bombers with 10 kills and Schmidt chipped in nine. Sophomore Molly Brown (Closter, N.J./Northern Valley Old Tappan) tallied 16 assists and Garone set for 14 to go with her team-best three aces. Duryea dug 17 balls, Idziur 15 and sophomoreDylan Gawinski Stern (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) 10. Junior Abbie Hutchinson (Pownal, Maine/Yarmouth) recorded four blocks (1 solo, 3 assists).


St. John Fisher v Potsdam | Geneseo
The St. John Fisher College volleyball team wrapped up its season Saturday, losing to SUNY Potsdam in straight sets, before falling in a five-set thriller to SUNY Geneseo at Bobby Wanzer Court.

After battling to a 2-2 tie, a fifth and final set would be needed to determine a winner as the Cardinals hosted the SUNY Geneseo Knights.

In a back-and-forth affair that featured 10 lead changes and 12 ties, 15 points wouldn't be enough to decide the winner. Early on in the frame, Fisher held a 6-3 lead, but the Knights would erase Fisher's advantage with some timely hitting.

Both teams jockeyed for the lead with Fisher taking a 15-14 advantage as Paige Willson crushed a ball into the hardwood, forcing Geneseo to call a timeout.

After the short break in action, the Knights would retake the lead only to see Fisher pull ahead once again. Tied at 19-19, two Cardinal errors would give Geneseo the edge it needed as the Knights pulled out the 3-2 win.

Earlier in the day, the Cardinals opened up play at the tri-match with a straight set loss to the SUNY Potsdam Bears.

After dropping the first set 25-18, the Cardinals made a game of the second frame, but were unable to comeback as the Bears held on for the 2-0 lead.
The Cardinals held a 14-7 lead in the third stanza, but three scoring runs by Potsdam quickly changed the score in favor of the Bears as they tallied seven of the final 11 points en route to a 25-19 win and the game.

Rachael Kline had a combined 16 kills and 13 digs on the day. Kline finishes the season with a team-high 349 kills. Willson tallied a combined 17 kills, while Andrea Gillespie did her part, notching 35 digs in two games. Ali Mann had 33 combined helpers and teammate Erica Stickler had 35 assists including 28 against Geneseo to go along with 14 combined digs.


Houghton v Brockport | Hiram
Houghton volleyball lost both matches at the Brockport State tri-match on Saturday, losing 3-2 to the host Eagles and 3-0 to Hiram College.

In the opening against Brockport, the Highlanders fells into a 2-0 hole before battling back to send the match to five games. Three players registered double-doubles.

Against Hiram, the Highlanders played much better, but still found themselves on the losing end. Hattie Burgher (Selkirk, NY, Loudonville Christian) led with 10 kills and 10 digs. Meagan Palm (Lakeland, FL, Lakeland Christian) finished with seven kills and Alicia Needham (Tustin, CA, Tustin H.S.) had six kills and three blocks. Defensively, Alyssa Quimby (Northglenn, CO, Community Christian) had 14 digs.


Alfred v Potsdam | Geneseo
The Alfred University volleyball team wrapped up its 2013 season with a pair of losses at the St. John Fisher College Invitational Saturday.

The Saxons (3-27) lost 3-0 to Geneseo (25-18, 25-21, 25-11) and fell 3-1 to Potsdam (25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 25-16).

In the Geneseo match, senior Core' Oppliger (Neuchatel, Switzerland) had seven kills and two blocks for AU. Senior Samantha Wood (Newfield, NY/Newfield) had six kills; senior Chelsea Hall (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island) had three kills and seven digs; senior Paige Jensen (Weiser, ID/Weiser) had seven kills and four digs; and senior Janelle Gallipeau (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia) had 16 assists.

Oppliger had 10 kills and two blocks to lead AU against Potsdam. Hall had 24 digs and six kills; Wood had six kills and two blocks; and Gallipeau had 32 assists.