Women's Volleyball | 11/6/2021 4:28:00 PM
PITTSFORD, NY – For the third year in a row, the top-seeded St. John Fisher College women's volleyball team rolled to a conference championship after the Cardinals swept third-seeded Nazareth College on Saturday afternoon in the Empire 8 Championship finale inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court. With the win, Fisher improved to 26-4 on the season and earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Championship, which is scheduled to begin next week. The Golden Flyers had their season come to a close at 14-11.
Senior Alea Steigerwald, who was named the Empire 8's Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive season on Wednesday, was chosen as the championship's Most Valuable Player after the Penfield native hit .647 on Saturday. Steigerwald finished with 12 kills, 11 digs and a block in the win while Lindsey DeBonis added 10 kills and seven digs over three sets. Sydney French hammered home seven kills in all while Delayne Young accounted for six kills, five digs and a service ace. Julia Halsey was credited with nine digs for Fisher while Katie Leaty handed out 37 assists for head coach
Kelly Greapentrog's squad.
After overwhelming Nazareth in the first set, 25-19, Fisher carried over its hot hitting in the second frame and jumped out to a 12-6 lead prompting the Golden Flyers to call a timeout. The break in action did little to slow Fisher's pace as the Cardinals extended their lead to 19-10 before the visitors could get a side out.
Leading by eight late in the second set, Fisher continued to pour it on as its lead ballooned to 12 before an attacking error by the Golden Flyers gave Fisher a 25-13 edge and a two-set cushion.
In the third frame, both teams exchanged points in the early going before Fisher took control and rattled off four straight points including an ace from Leaty to open up an 11-6 advantage. From there, Nazareth would keep it at a four-point gap for a short stretch, but the Cardinals proved to be too much at the net as Fisher scored four more unanswered points including back-to-back kills from French and Young to take a 17-9 lead.
Holding a commanding lead and with momentum on its side, Fisher continued to set the pins and accounted for four kills over the final eight points to complete the sweep, 25-16.
As a team, Fisher finished with a .352 hitting percentage with 41 kills on 88 swings. The team had five aces in the win and notched 44 digs defensively.
The Cardinals will now advance to their fourth NCAA appearance in program history and will find out when and where they will play during the NCAA Selection Show, which is set to air at 12:30 p.m. on Monday on
NCAA.com.
2021 Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, Nov. 2 (First Round)
#4 Elmira defeated #5 Keuka, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-20) – BOX SCORE
Friday, Nov. 5 (Semifinals at St. John Fisher
#1 St. John Fisher defeated #4 Elmira, 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 27-15) - BOX SCORE
#3 Nazareth defeated #2 Hartwick, 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 25-19) – BOX SCORE
Saturday, Nov. 6 (Championship at St. John Fisher)
#1 St. John Fisher defeated #3 Nazareth, 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-16) - BOX SCORE
2021 Empire 8 Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player
Alea Steigerwald, Sr., OH, St. John Fisher
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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