Women's Volleyball | 10/22/2021 8:17:00 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – For the third year in a row, the St. John Fisher College women's volleyball team clinched the Empire 8 Regular Season Championship after sweeping visiting Keuka College on Friday night inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court. Fisher, which has now earned the right to host the upcoming Empire 8 Championship tournament, moved to 20-4 on the year and remained unbeaten in conference play at 7-0 while the Wolves fell to 8-14 overall and 3-5 in the league standings.
Alea Steigerwald, who was named the Empire 8 Player of the Week on Monday, led the way with a game-high 13 kills paired with seven digs and an ace. Sydney French produced 11 kills and seven digs while Gracie Jacob added five kills over two sets. Katie Leaty chipped in with 34 assists and 10 digs while Lindsey DeBonis and Kara Balmer had four kills each in the win.
After securing a 25-17 win in the first set, Fisher found itself in an early hole in the second frame as Keuka jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. The Cardinals would battle back to knot the set at 7-7 following consecutive kills from DeBonis and French, but Keuka countered with four of the frame's next five points to hold an 11-8 edge.
Trailing by three, Fisher would score four in a row to open up its first lead of the set, but the Wolves regrouped and eventually built a 20-18 lead. From there, Fisher found its footing and rattled off five unanswered points with Emily Brochey at the service line, but the tides shifted again with Keuka countering with a 4-0 run of its own to force the Cardinals into a timeout down, 24-23.
With momentum favoring the visitors, Fisher dug in and used kills from French and Jacob to pull ahead, 26-24, for a two-set cushion.
In the third set, Keuka was able to build an 8-6 margin before the Cardinals caught fire and registered eight of the next points en route to a 25-11 decision.
As a team, Fisher accounted for 45 kills and hit .333 overall for the match. The Cardinals notched 10 service aces and finished the win with four blocks.
Fisher has a quick turnaround as head coach
Kelly Greapentrog's team is back in action at 5 p.m. on Saturday when it travels to Utica to take on the Pioneers in another Empire 8 bout.