Women's Volleyball | 9/18/2021 10:12:00 PM
BUFFALO, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team kept its momentum from Friday evening into Saturday to defeat the host Buffalo State and then Medaille College to win the Buffalo State Bengal Challenge on Saturday evening.
The Saxons (5-5, 0-0 Empire 8) defeated the Bengals in five, hard-fought sets while sweeping Medaille in another close three sets. This is the first time since 2000 that the Saxons have outright won a tournament/invitational as the Saxons swept the Oneonta Invitational 21 years ago. AU defeated Buff. State, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 25-19 and 15-13 before topping the Mavericks, 25-19, 25-22 and 25-17.
At the conclusion of the Bengal Challenge,
Darian Ortiz (Santa Fe, NM/St. Michael's) was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player as she was joined by teammates
Honor Edmands (Reno, NV/Reno) and
Sarah Raeman (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) on the 2021 Buffalo State Bengal Challenge All-Tournament Team.
"Overall I was impressed with our leadership this weekend," Head Coach
Dakota Pruiss said. "Both Darian [Ortiz] and Amanda [Burns] led the defense and offense respectively in all three matches to give everyone on the floor the ability to perform at a high level."
Match One
Ortiz smashed her collegiate career-high in a single match for digs, upping it from 27 to 38 as she helped keep the Bengals from outscoring the Saxons en route to the five-set victory. Her 38 digs ties the Alfred University school record for a five-set match as it is also held by
Emily Steen '10 against Utica College in 2009. Her defensive efforts allowed the Saxon hitters to place four in double-digit scoring.
Edmands led in the morning with 14.5 points from 13 kills, a solo block and a block assist.
Jamie Chun (Hilo, HI/Hilo) was right behind with 14.0 points from 13 kills as well and a service ace. Raeman also had 13 kills as she added a block assist for 13.5 points against the Bengals.
Rylee Russin (Broomfield, CO/Broomfield) closed out the double-digit scoring with 12.0 points from 12 kills. Edmands, Chun, Raeman and
Fiona McNeil (Fayetteville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) all had hitting percentages in the positive numbers of hitters with 10 or more attacks. McNeil hit a .400 on her 10 attempts with five kills and one error. Chun led the Saxons with 30 or more attacks, hitting a .281 on 32 attempts with only four errors.
Amanda Burns (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush) was two assists shy of tying the Alfred University school record in five-set assists with 54, closing in on the mark of 56 set by
Aubrey Totsline '18 against Hartwick College in 2017.
"That match was one of the tightest battles we have encountered in my staff's tenure here at AU and I'm exceptionally proud of our poise and purpose during the entirety of that match," Coach Pruiss said. "That Buff State team is the best squad I've seen since in a long time, so to compete and come out successful was a huge testament to the mental and emotional work this squad put in. I am exceptionally proud of the defensive efforts today as our back row group kept us alive in some intense rallies."
Chun rounded out the top statistical leaders for AU in the morning match as she recorded a double-double by adding 14 digs.
Match Two
Another match and almost another school record tied by Ortiz as she had 24 digs in three sets against Medaille College. The AU record is 27 digs, set in 2012 by
Brianna Dudick '16. Chun was right behind Ortiz in digs as she had 20 in the evening match as she also led with eight points from five kills, two aces and two block assists. Burns had 20 set assists in the nightcap to close out the victorious week for the Saxons.
"The Medaille match was a test of character in the face of fatigue from our first match of the day," Coach Dak said. "We wanted to have success in both matches today to prove to ourselves that we can play at high levels for long stretches of time."
The Saxons will next return home to host the Wolves of Keuka College in Empire 8 action. The match on Friday, September 24 will be the first conference match of the season with the first serve occurring at 7:00pm.