Women's Volleyball | 11/5/2022 6:23:00 PM
PITTSFORD, NY – The St. John Fisher University women's volleyball team (21-7) captured its fourth straight Empire 8 Championship with a 3-1 win over Hartwick College (20-5) on Saturday. With the win, the Cardinals have received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, with the selection show occurring at 1 p.m. on Monday, November 7.
The first set opened with back-and-forth scoring, resulting in a 6-5 lead for the Cardinals. From that point, Fisher would go on a 19-6 run, including two 5-0 runs to overwhelm the Hawks in set one by a final of 25-11. The Hawks struggled offensively to muscle anything against the Cardinals in the first set, finishing with five kills compared to 15 from Fisher. Fisher capitalized on the serve-receive, as
Katie Leaty added two aces in the first set, alongside aces from
Kiana Walker and Delayne
Young.
Looking to bounce back, the Hawks held the Cardinals to a three point lead in the second set with the score 16-13. Hartwick would go on to take four of the next six points, bringing the score to within one, down 18-17. Three timely errors from the Hawks gave the Cardinals a 22-17 lead, which was extended to 23-17 on another ace from Leaty. The 5-0 run forced Hartwick to take both timeouts. Out of the second timeout, Hartwick was able to score a point, though kills from Young and Walker iced the second set by a 25-18 margin to give Fisher a 2-0 edge.
Seeking the win in three sets, Fisher met resistance from Hartwick, who opened up the third set with a 12-10 lead, forcing a timeout from Cardinals coach Kelly Greapentrog. Out of the timeout, Fisher would go on an 8-2 run, capped off by another kill from Young, turning the tides to give the Cardinals a four-point edge at 18-14. Seeking to mend the gap, Hartwick coach Jim Clar called his first timeout, which resulted in both teams exchanging the next six points to bring the score to 21-17. After another Hartwick timeout, an attack error gave the Cardinals a five-point edge, their largest of the set, before the Hawks would score four straight to bring the score to 22-21, forcing the second timeout of the set by the Cardinals. While Fisher would go up 24-23, Hartwick refused to go down without a fight, and a controversial call netted the tying point for the Hawks at 24-24. The teams would battle to a 26-26 score, before back-to-back points for the Hawks gave them the third set victory 28-26, and brought the score to 2-1 in Fisher's favor.
The fourth set started with a four-point lead for Fisher, but Hartwick would take a 13-11 lead after going on a 9-3 run of their own. Out of a Cardinal timeout, Fisher would go on a 7-2 run, bringing the lead back up to four at 18-14. After exchanging the next four points, Hartwick would take their second timeout, down 20-16. The stoppage of play did little to slow down the Cardinal offense, who would claim four of the next six points behind two kills from Walker and a kill from French. Up 24-18, a kill from French, her 12
th of the day, gave Fisher the four-set victory, capturing their fourth consecutive title. The win over the Hawks is their ninth consecutive, dating back to 2014.
The victory was a true team effort, as Empire 8 tournament MVP Walker tallied 16 kills in the win, a season-high for the graduate student. Walker hit .0275 in the tournament, finishing with 26 kills to seven errors across 69 attempts. Walker also had three aces and 19 digs in the win. French, the senior middle, finished with 12 kills of her own, hitting 0.373 in the tournament. French added five blocks as well. Meanwhile, the setter Leaty finished with a season-high 50 assists, the most she has recorded since finishing with 53 in an October matchup last season against RIT. Leaty added two aces from the service line. The tandem of Young and
Lindsey DeBonis was critical as well, as DeBonis tallied 11 kills, 3.0 blocks, and
20 digs, while Young racked up 11 kills, three aces, and 16 digs of her own.
"The environment [of the game] made it one of the most memorable for me," said Walker.
"Between the energy on the court, bench, and crowd, it helped boost our motivation and drive to get the job done. The support we have gotten throughout the season is unbelievable and it was a phenomenal last win on our home court," she added.
"We have worked hard to be the team we showed we are today. I am excited to keep it rolling in NCAAs. Looking forward to the challenge this team has together," Walker concluded.
2022 Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, Nov. 1 - First Round
No. 6 Utica defeated No. 3 Nazareth, 3-2 (11-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13) – BOX SCORE
No. 4 Houghton defeated No. 5 Medaille, 3-0 (25-23, 25-10, 25-22) – BOX SCORE
Friday, Nov. 4 - Semi-Finals at St. John Fisher
No. 1 St. John Fisher defeated No. 4 Houghton, 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-15) – BOX SCORE
No. 2 Hartwick defeated No. 6 Utica, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-15) – BOX SCORE
Saturday, Nov. 5 Championship at St. John Fisher
No. 1 St. John Fisher defated No. 2 Hartwick, 3-1 (25-11, 25-18, 26-28, 25-18) – BOX SCORE
2022 Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player
Kiana Walker, Gr., 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
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