Women's Volleyball | 10/7/2023 3:35:00 PM
ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team celebrated its four seniors on Saturday afternoon with a three-set sweep of Russell Sage College, making it back-to-back 3-0 wins from Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.
The Saxons (5-9, 2-2 Empire 8) defeated Hartwick College on Friday evening in three. On Saturday, the Saxons celebrated
Jamie Chun (Hilo, HI/Hilo), Casey Grange (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca), Fiona McNeil (Fayetteville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) and
Corinne Ferguson (Chesapeake, OH/Chesapeake) as well as Assistant Coach,
Sarah Raeman '21, '23 MS in pre-match ceremonies as well as the five seniors of the Gators (6-12, 1-3).
Unlike Friday's closer three-set win by the Saxons over the Hawks of Hartwick, AU ran away with the set scores, breaking a school record for largest margin of victory in a single set. The previous record (since 2013 when the record book expanded) was met twice as AU defeated Wells College in 2021, 25-6 and SUNY Purchase in 2016, 25-6. On Saturday, the Saxons won the first set, 25-5. The second set was the closest of the day with Alfred taking a 2-0 match lead with a 25-14 win. They closed out the day with a 25-9 third set win to round out Senior Day.
"First off, I want to thank the seniors, Jamie, Casey, Fiona, Corinne as well as Darian [Ortiz] and Coach Raeman for choosing to come to Alfred University and be a part of this program. I also want to thank the parents of those six for entrusting Alfred University, AUVB and me to look after them during their time here. I'm very proud to have worked with these amazing individuals," Head Coach
Mike Honeycutt said. "Our seniors did an amazing job of channeling the multitude of emotions that a Senior Day brings into arguably one of the best matches that they have put together. To see all of them out there doing what they love and excelling is all that a coach can ask for. Having back-to-back three set wins in conference is really something special for the team, not only in terms of E8 standings, but to demonstrate to the players that they are capable of winning in this fashion."
It was the first time in school history that AU won back-to-back 3-0 Empire 8 matches during the regular season. It was the first time they won back-to-back E8 matches, 3-0 overall since the 2004 season when the Saxons defeated Hartwick College and Utica College during the 2004 Empire 8 Tournament.
The Saxons totaled a team hitting percentage of .345, only having eight errors on 87 attempts with 38 kills. They were led by Grange who hit .500 with a match-high 14.0 points, all from kills with one error on 26 attempts.
Taylor Malone (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) added 12.0 points from 11 kills and two block assists. Every Saxon who got onto the court scored a point in the win. Chun added 6.0 points from five kills and an ace. McNeil had 5.5 points from four kills, a solo block and a block assist. Ferguson also had 5.5 points from a match-high three aces along with two kills and a block assist.
Delaney Sims (Bogart, GA/George Walton Academy) tacked on 3.0 points from two kills and an ace.
Darian Ortiz (Santa Fe, NM/St. Michael's) and
Anjoeline Armstrong (Simi Valley, CA/Bishop Alemany) each had an ace for their scores.
Sims led in set assists with 26. Each Saxon had a dig on the day as they were led by Malone with 12. Russell Sage players only had 11.0 points on the day and were led by a 4.0 point performance by their setter,
Mia Wood who had three aces, one kill and a team-high three assists.
The Saxons also set a school record in longest scoring run, totaling 15 points in the first set. The Saxons were leading, 9-4 before the spree put them up, 24-4. They would finish the set with the 20-point margin of victory. AU would have a second, double-digit scoring run in the third set, scoring 11 points, unanswered to give them a 23-7 lead.
The Saxons will next play out of conference as they travel to Bradford, PA to face University of Pittsburgh at Bradford on Tuesday, October 10 at 7:00pm.
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