Women's Volleyball | 10/30/2022 7:06:15 PM
Top-seed St. John Fisher College will look to win its fourth straight league title, as the 2022 Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball Championship begins on Tuesday, Nov. 1 with a first round action with semifinal and championship action taking place on Friday, Nov. 4 and Saturday, Nov. 5 at St. John Fisher.
No. 3 seed Nazareth College will host No. 6 seed Utica University and No. 4 seed Houghton University is set to host No. 5 Medaille University in the opening round games on Tuesday evening, both starting at 7 p.m. The winner of the Houghton vs. Medaille match will take on St. John Fisher from Manning-Napier Varsity Gym in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. Friday. No. 2 seed Hartwick College will face the winner of Nazareth vs. Utica in the second semifinal at 7:30 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2022 Empire 8 Championship on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The league champion receives an automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship, which begins Nov. 11-13.
Participants
No. 1 - St. John Fisher (9-0 E8, 19-7 Overall)
No. 2 – Hartwick (8-1 E8, 19-4 Overall)
No. 3 – Nazareth (6-3 E8, 10-18 Overall)
No. 4 – Houghton (5-4 E8, 9-13 Overall)
No. 5 – Medaille (4-5 E8, 6-22 Overall)
No. 6 – Utica (4-5 E8, 16-11 Overall)
St. John Fisher enters the tournament having won 38 straight matches against Empire 8 opponents dating back to the start of the 2019 season. The Cardinals are looking to win their fourth straight Empire 8 Championship and earn the automatic bid into the NCAA Championship for the third straight time. The Cardinals have strong depth, with four players tallying at least 200 points on the seasons. Senior Sydney French leads the way with 207 kills and a league-best .352 hitting percentage and 48 blocks, while classmate Lindsey DeBonis has 185 kills and graduate student Kiana Walker has 282 digs and 181 blocks. Delayne Young leads the team, averaging 3.43 points per set Senior Katie Leaty has a team-high 659, while first-year Kiera Hartpence has 322 digs and Brooke Segars has 42 service aces.
Hartwick, the number two seed, enters the tournament with a 19-4 overall record this season and has won eight straight matches. The Hawks are making their third all-time appearance in the Empire 8 Tournament and are the number two seed for the second straight year. Sophomore setter Braelyn Hornick leads the conference with 790 assists to go along with a team-best total of 44 service aces and 191 digs. Junior Kaleigh Brandow leads Hartwick with 231 kills and 196 digs, while senior Collette Maloney has 186 digs and 164 kills. Sophomore Staecia Silofau has 191 kills to go along with 156 digs and 46 blocks, while the duo of Niah Reeves and Shelby Swartz lead the league in blocks per set.
Nazareth finished third in the league standings with a 6-3 mark. Kaylee Kelly has slammed 267 kills in 2022 and led all players with 141 kills, 4.41 kills and 5.20 points per set in Empire 8 play. Versatile sophomore Tessa Grover serves as Nazareth’s primary setter and is also a valuable hitter from the right side. She is averaging 5.97 assists, 1.8 kills, 1.68 digs and 0.7 blocks per set this season, while hitting .214. Zoe Tylipakis leads the Golden Flyers with 269 digs and 2.14 digs per set. Eva Lyko, Rylee Loomis and Ruth Jackson have also played a vital role in Nazareth’s success this season.
The fourth-seeded Highlanders of Houghton University are in the E8 postseason for the fourth time in program history. Graduate student Haley Unverdorben is second in the conference, averaging 8.23 assists per set to go along with 191 digs and 36 service aces. Sophomore Julie Immel leads the team with 202 kills, while first-year Emma Cole has 147 kills and a team-high 21 blocks. Rebekah Clark is among the Empire 8 leaders with 306 digs and 4.2 digs per set. Ella Smith leads Houghton with 49 service aces and has added 142 kills.
Medaille advanced to the Empire 8 Tournament in its first season as a league member. Senior Halle Bogas leads the Mavericks with 279 kills and 346 digs to go along with 45 service aces, while Chase Luebeck has 241 kills and 46 blocks. Avery Ang leads Medaille with 438 assists, while Baylee Roman has a team-high 46 service aces.
Utica is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the third time in program history and are in the midst of its finest season ever, having won 16 matches. Senior Eleanor Cepiel leads all Empire 8 student-athletes with 348 kills and 3.48 kills per set to go along with 351 digs. Libero Krystell Pappas has a team-high 368 digs, while Brianna Woods and Kurstan Martin have 114 and 113 kills, respectively. Setter Madison Maggiore has 711 assists, while Peyton Migliacco has a team-high 46 blocks.
Both lower seeds won their regular season matchups against their first round opponents. Medaille defeated Houghton in five sets on Oct. 19, while Utica defeated Nazareth in five sets on Sept. 24. Looking ahead to the semifinals, St. John Fisher defeated both Medaille and Houghton in three sets earlier in the season, while Hartwick upended Nazareth in five sets on Sept. 30 and Utica in four sets on Oct. 22.
This weekend's championship schedule is below. For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on Twitter (@Empire8).
2022 Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship Schedule
Tuesday, November 1– First Round (at Higher Seed)
No. 5 Keuka at No. 4 Elmira – 7 p.m.
No. 6 Utica at No. 3 Nazareth – 7 p.m.
Friday, November 4 – Semifinals (at St. John Fisher)
Winner of Houghton vs. Medaille at No. 1 St. John Fisher – 5 p.m.
Winner of Nazareth vs. Utica vs. No. 2 Hartwick – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 5 - Championship Final (at St. John Fisher)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 – 2 p.m.
Admission
$6.00 - Adults
$4.00 - Students and seniors with ID
Free - Children under 12
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.