Fisher, Houghton and Stevens Take Two In E8 Crossover
The St. John Fisher College, Houghton College and Stevens Institute of Technology volleyball teams closed out regular-season conference play with a pair of victories on Saturday.
STEVENS
The Stevens Institute of Technology women's volleyball team completed the Empire 8 Conference regular season schedule with a perfect 8-0 record after sweeps of Ithaca College and Nazareth College on Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y.
This is the second-straight year that Stevens has put together an unblemished conference slate and the Ducks will host the Empire 8 Championship on November 7-8.
Stevens (27-4) topped Nazareth (21-8) in its opener of the tri-match, 25-20, 25-11, 25-23, and then blanked Ithaca (20-10), 25-22, 25-20, 25-14, to earn the top seed in the Empire 8 tournament.
The Ducks have now won eight matches in a row after their 11-match winning streak was snapped on October 11.
The Ducks hit at a superb rate of .300 against Nazareth with 44 kills and just 11 errors on 100 attempts and held the Golden Flyers to just a .156 percentage. Stevens also benefitted from 11 service errors by Nazareth and committed just three on its end of the court.
Sophomore
Mary Tobin paced all players in kills with 18 and hitting percentage at .447 in the match. Tobin completed her double-double with 13 digs and a solo block.
Senior
Katie Hall eclipsed the .400-mark in hitting percentage at .429 on seven kills in 14 swings and added two digs with a block. Freshman
Brianna Evans reached double-digits in kills with 10 and hit .304 to go along with five digs and two blocks.
Senior
Ashley Castillo handed out a match-high 38 assists with 10 digs and two blocks, while junior
Annemarie Thomas recorded a match-best four blocks and chipped in four kills.
Freshman
Sydni Horner registered 18 digs to become the fourth Duck to post a match-high in five categories against Nazareth. Sophomore
Christina Sciarra added four kills.
The Ducks never trailed in the second set. In the third set, the Ducks and Golden Flyers were knotted up 15 times and traded leads on six different occasions.
In the nightcap, the Ducks once again held a distinct edge in hitting percentage, .255 to .094, and totaled 12 block assists. Stevens was almost equally as impressive in kills as its opener with 40 against Ithaca with just 13 errors.
Tobin once again tallied a match-best in kills with 16 and guided the Ducks in hitting percentage at .361. She also scored on three service aces.
Evans was next in line in kills with eight, and added four blocks and four digs. Hall turned away five kill attempts by the Bombers with five digs and three kills.
Castillo handed out 34 more assists and posted four digs with three kills in nine tries. Horner contributed 14 more digs, while junior
Catie Shelton chipped in nine digs.
Sciarra finished the match with six kills and two digs.
HOUGHTON
The Houghton Volleyball team had an undefeated day at the Empire 8 Crossover at Alfred University, where in the first match they beat the Saxons of Alfred 3-0 followed by another 3-0 victory over the Hartwick College Hawks.
It was in the very first set of the day when the Highlanders set the tone for the two matches. Up 6-4 in the first match set against Alfred, the Highlanders rallied 5 consecutive points to give them an 11-4 lead. A combination of Houghton kills and Alfred attack errors allowed for the Highlanders to limit the Saxons to 15 points, while taking the victory; Houghton won the first set 25-15.
Alfred put up a fight the second set, tying Houghton on 9 different occasions. The Highlanders and Saxons went neck and neck up until the very end. Two very well executed kills by
Jaclyn Algier and
Naomi Prentice gave the Highlanders the 25-22 victory.
Towards the beginning of the third set, the Highlanders found themselves in a 9-5 score, 4-point deficit. This would be the last time Houghton would be down in the score; the Highlanders managed to rally 7 consecutive points, giving them a 13-8 lead. While holding the Saxons to a minimal 14 points, the Highlanders claimed the 3 set-match victory by winning the third set 25-14.
Houghton took the momentum from the first match and carried it over into the second match against Hartwick. In the first set, the Highlanders took a 9 point rally that was interrupted one time by the Hawks. The Highlanders claimed the first set win 25-14. For the second set, Houghton made the victory short and sweet; only 9 Highlander kills needed to confirm the 25-9 win
The third and final set would give the Highlanders a day full of nothing but wins; 25-18 third set win allowed for Houghton to go 6-0 on the day.
In the first match against Alfred, Prentice led the way offensively with 10 kills. Defensively,
Alyssa Quimby contributed with 11 digs followed by
Laurel Wroblicky with 10. Setter
Anna Coryell assisted in 28 Highlander points.
For the second match against Hartwick, many Highlanders contributed to the 3-0 victory.
Hattie Burgher was credited with 7 kills and 11 digs followed by Quimby with 8 digs. Wroblicky had an impressive 14 digs, while Coryell had 22 assists.
ST. JOHN FISHER
Fisher 3, Utica 1
The host Pioneers took the first set 25-19 but Fisher powered through three consecutive sets (25-13, 25-23, 25-19) to take the 3-1 win.
Freshman
Madison Karwas posted a 17.5-point game with a double-double in kills (16) and digs (17).
Megan Miller,
Amanda Miller and
Anna Marcy rounded out the offense, combining for 38 kills. Marcy's 31 assists helped her also record a double-double while
Ashley Agan added 24 assists.
On defense,
Katie Mazierski tallied 17 digs while
Jessica Simonetti contributed 14.
Paige Willson had the team's two solo blocks and helped in five block assists.
Fisher 3, Elmira 0
The Cardinals defeated the Soaring Eagles in straight sets (25-14, 25-22, 25-18) to tally their second win of the day.
Marcy tallied 13.5 points in both an offensive and defensive effort. The freshman recorded 11 kills, 13 assists, four digs and five block assists.
Karwas and Agan added to their day's total with eight kills and nine digs, and 13 assists, respectively.
Mazierski added 16 digs while Willson recorded seven block assists to pace the defense.
NAZARETH
Nazareth defeated Ithaca Saturday in a conference women's volleyball match. Senior
Maria Allocco had 16 kills as Nazareth won in five sets by scores of 26-24, 16-25, 25-27, 25-23, 15-7. The Golden Flyers then suffered their first conference loss of the season to Stevens in three sets. The scores were 25-20, 25-11, and 25-23.
The Golden Flyers are now 21-8 overall, 7-1 in the E8.
Against the Bombers, Nazareth had a .200 hitting percentage (60-32-140). The Golden Flyers had a .385 hitting percentage against Ithaca in the first set along with a .353 hitting percentage in the fifth set.
Sophomore
Maureen Thayer had 15 digs for the Golden Flyers. Sophomore
Madi Wickens had 46 assists. Allocco also had four aces and four blocks for Nazareth.
Against the Ducks, Allocco finished with 12 kills. Thayer had 12 digs, and
Olivia Harrigan finished with 11. Wickens had 28 assists in the defeat.
In the first set Nazareth led 12-10 before Stevens scored four straight points to take a 14-12 lead. The Golden Flyers tied it up at 14 but were never able to regain the lead. In the third set the Golden Flyers led 9-8 and tied the game several times including at 23-23 before the Ducks put the game away with the final two points.
ALFRED
The Alfred University women's volleyball team ended a three-year drought of not winning an Empire 8 conference match by besting Hartwick College in four sets, 14-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-23 on Saturday afternoon in the McLane Center.
This is the first home Empire 8 win for the Saxons in over six years and the first Empire 8 win since the Saxons topped Utica College back on October 22, 2011 in three sets. The match also snapped an eight-match winless streak since Alfred defeated Morrisville State College 3-1 in its final September match.
Freshman
Aubrey Totsline led a strong run in the Saxons' first set win of the day when she highlighted a 10-0 run with four service aces, three of which were in succession of one-another. That run gave the host of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament and Dig Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Day a 17-7 lead as Hartwick failed to put together more than three consecutive points during the remained of the match.
Alfred and Hartwick battled back-and-forth for the remaining two sets, with neither side having more than a seven-point lead. The Saxons did have a seven-point lead in the third with a score of 16-9 after Totsline assisted on two kills by sophomore
Mary Lou Patnaude and one finish from junior
Chelsea Pietrzykowski while sophomore Valerie Cardillo added an ace before a Hartwick timeout.
After the minute break, the Hawks responded with a 5-0 run capped by Rosa Maun's ace with the rest coming from attack errors and one ball handling mistake, bringing the visitors within two, 16-14.
The two sides exchanged blows until the score stood with an Alfred, 24-20 lead when Hartwick composed a last ditch effort and scored three, unanswered points before freshman
Jacquelynn Hicks connected off a Totsline set for the set-winning kill.
Neither team seemed to be gaining much ground in the fourth and final set despite the Saxons having control of the majority of the match. That was until the Hawks caught up, tied and then took the lead 23-22 off of kills from Kayla Baril and Christine Confer and a service ace from Baril.
The Saxon response to this threat of going into a fifth set: repossession of the ball off a Confer attacking error and junior
Brianna Dudick serving twice that ended in another attack error for the Hawks by Alyssa Zeitler and an attack that failed to get pass the arms of Pietrzykowski and
Heather D'Andrea for the win.
Totsline finished the second match with six aces, 32 assists, eight digs and one kill. Patnaude posted a team-high 10 points from 10 kills and added 15 digs and two assists. Pietrzykowski and Hicks had eight and seven kills respectively while matching each other with two assisted blocks. Dudick also posted six finishes.
D'Andrea recorded three block assists along with two kills.
The morning match did not go the way the Saxons had hoped for, having fell to Empire 8 conference foe, Houghton College in three sets, 15-25, 22-25, 14-25.
Totsline added one ace to her Saturday total as well as 17 assists. Hicks was the only Saxon to hit double-digit scoring with 10 points from nine kills and two block assists. Senior
Taylor Kiernan recorded a game-high 19 digs in the morning loss.
ELMIRA
The Elmira College women's volleyball team split matches today at the Empire 8 Tri-Match, held in Utica, NY. Elmira fell in the opening match to St. John Fisher College, 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-18), but the Soaring Eagles responded well in the second match by defeating host Utica College in five sets (25-19, 25-27, 26-24, 22-25, 15-12).
EC setter
Sami Hanes '16 totaled 56 assists in Elmira's win over Utica. Her 56 assists sets a new career-high for the third-year setter and it is also the second time this season she has recorded 50 or more assists. Also recording a career-high against Utica was
Kierstin Derr '16 who logged 18 digs.
Elmira suffered a 3-0 loss in the opening match of the day to the Cardinals of St. John Fisher College. The Soaring Eagles struggled on offense as none of EC's players totaled double-digit kills but it was the Fisher defense that made the difference as the Cardinals totaled 21 blocks.
Sami Hanes '16 led Elmira with 26 assists while
Kierstin Derr '16 finished with a team-high eight kills. Defensively, Elmira had two players with double-digit digs.
Samantha Hawksley '16 finished with a team-high 15 digs while
Kelsey Ross '16 chipped in with 10.
After falling to Utica College earlier this season, Elmira looked to get a bit of revenge today and did as the Soaring Eagles edged the Pioneers in five sets. Elmira controlled the early portions of today's match, winning the first set and nearly the second set had the Pioneers not saved four set points as Utica took the second set 27-25.
EC returned the favor in the third set however as they fought off a match point, an effort that sparked a 3-0 run by Elmira to close out the set in favor of the Soaring Eagles. However, Utica responded well in the fourth set, taking it 25-22, forcing a fifth and final set.
In the fifth set, Elmira jumped out to a 4-0 lead but Utica again clawed their way back into the match by winning the next five points. The Soaring Eagles would eventually go up on Utica 11-9 but again Utica fought back, winning three straight points to take a 12-11 lead. However, Elmira proved to be the mentally stronger team as EC won the next four points to claim the fifth set, 15-12.
Elmira had several players with standout numbers, including Hanes who finished with a career-high 56 assists. Hanes' effort was apparent as four of her teammates logged double-digit kills, including
Ashley Heiman '16 who led Elmira with 17 kills. Derr was not far behind with 16 kills while Ross and
Amanda Blinkinsop '16 added 11 and 10, respectively.
Defensively, Elmira was led by Ross and her 27 digs, the second most in her three-year career. Hawksley added 18 digs, which is also the second-most digs in her career while Derr contributed with a career-high 18 digs.
UTICA
The Utica College volleyball team fell in both games of its Empire 8 pod Saturday afternoon, losing to St. John Fisher College 3-1 before falling to Elmira in a heartbreaking five-set match.
Utica 1, St. John Fisher 3 (25-19, 13-25, 23-25, 19-25)
Utica got off on the right foot as the Pioneers took the first game, 25-19, however the Cardinals rallied to win the next three sets, 25-13, 25-23, and 25-19.
Junior
Laura Homer-Gunther had a team-high 12 kills, while
Samantha Hoerning,
Alaina Wickwire, and
Ashley Jones each had six kills on the day. Junior
Lora Allen led the squad with 16 digs, while
Briona Enny and Wickwire each recorded 14 digs. Allen also led the team with 30 assists.
Utica 2, Elmira 3 (19-25, 27-25, 24-26, 25-22, 12-15)
The Soaring Eagles took the first set, before Utica rebounded in set two to even the score. Down 2-1, the Pioneers opened the fourth set on a tear, scoring the first 11 points. The Soaring Eagles battled back, but Utica was able to hold on for the 25-22 victory to once again tie the game.
The fifth and final set was packed with back-and-forth action, but Elmira pulled away late to win the set 15-12 and take the match by a final score of 3-2.
Laura Homer-Gunther and
Brandi Blaszak led UC with 12 kills and four total blocks apiece, while
Briona Enny and
Alaina Wickwire combined for 43 digs.
Andreana Kroup was third on the team with a season-high 17 digs.
Lora Allen had 10 digs and a team-best 33 assists, and
Samantha Hoerning added eight digs and seven kills for Utica.
HARTWICK
'Wick volleyball went 0-2 to close out its Empire 8 Conference season with a pair of matches at Alfred University Saturday at the McLane Center. The Hawks lost a 3-0 (14-25, 9-25, 18-25) decision to Houghton in their first match and dropped a 3-1 (25-14, 15-25, 23-25, 23-25) match to the host Saxons in their second.
Against the Highlanders, sophomore
Hannah Armstrong earned a team-high 13 digs. Freshman
Ashley Werner added seven with fellow freshman
Kayla Baril contributing six. Sophomore
Quincy Kinzel delivered 13 assists.
The Hawks controlled the opening set against Alfred. They built leads of 13 points on three separate occasions and closed the set out on top 25-14.
The Saxons returned the favor in the second set, building a 21-8 advantage at one point. They would take the set by 10 points, 25-15, and the match was all even at 1-1.
In the third, Alfred led by as many as seven points, 16-9, but the Hawks would battle back to trim the deficit to one, 20-19. Four of the next five points would go to the Saxons as they built a 24-20 advantage. Three straight points, including kills from freshman
Rosa Maun and junior
Mary Beth DeCuyke, cut it to one, 24-23. But Alfred went up two sets to one as it scored the decisive point via a kill.
'Wick trailed by three points deep into the fourth set, 20-17. A kill and ace apiece from Maun and Baril and then another kill from senior
Christine Confer handed the Hawks the lead, 23-22. Three straight Hawk attack errors, however, would give the set and the match to Alfred.
Kinzel recorded a double-double with 28 assists and 17 kills for the Hawks. Armstrong added a team-high 21 digs and seven kills and Baril registered 18 digs and seven kills.
Sophomore
Alyssa Zeitler notched 18 digs and DeCuyke contributed seven kills.
ITHACA
The Ithaca College volleyball team hosted Empire 8 conference matches Saturday and dropped a five-set match to Nazareth and fell in three sets to Stevens. In the 3-2 loss to Nazareth, match scores were 26-24, 16-25, 25-27, 25-23, 15-7. Against Stevens, the Ducks won 3-0 by scores of 25-22, 25-20, 25-14.
These were the final Empire 8 conference matches of the season for each of the three teams, and all three entered the day with 6-0 records. In another match played Saturday at Ben Light Gymnasium, Stevens defeated Nazareth 3-0. Stevens will be the top seed and host for the Empire 8 volleyball playoffs at 8-0, with Nazareth as second seed (7-1) and Ithaca as third seed with a 6-2 E8 mark. Houghton finished fourth with a 5-3 conference record.
Nazareth 3, Ithaca 2
Nazareth pulled out the opening set 26-24 before Ithaca came back to win the second set 25-16 and then the third set by a 27-25 score. Nazareth closed by winning the fourth set 25-23 and the fifth set 15-7.
Rylie Bean and
Joelle Goldstein shared the lead for Ithaca with 14 kills each. Goldstein hit .294 in the match.
Kayla Gromen had 43 assists.
Maggie Mutschler had nine digs. Ithaca served nine aces in the match, led by four from Rylie Bean.
Stevens 3, Ithaca 0
In the match against Stevens, Goldstein totaled 10 kills and Bean had eight kills.
Kayla Gromen had 21 assists and two service aces.
Dylan Gawinski Stern added two aces.
Maggie Mutschler had 11 digs and
Myan Idziur had nine digs.
Katie Hartman had one solo block and two block assists.