Women's Volleyball | 11/5/2023 1:01:05 PM
Top-seed St. John Fisher University will look to win its fifth straight league title, as the 2023 Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball Championship begins on Tuesday, Nov. 7 with first round action. The semifinal round will be held at No. 1 St. John Fisher and No. 2 Hartwick College on Thursday, Nov. 9 with the championship held at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, Nov. 11.
No. 3 seed Keuka College will host No. 6 seed Utica University and No. 4 seed Nazareth University is set to host No. 5 Alfred University in the opening round games on Tuesday evening, both starting at 7 p.m. The winner of the Nazareth vs. Alfred match will take on St. John Fisher from Manning-Napier Varsity Gym in one semifinal at 7 p.m. Thursday. No. 2 seed Hartwick College will face the winner of Keuka vs. Utica in another semifinal from Binder Gymnasium, also at 7 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2023 Empire 8 Championship at the highest remaining seed on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The league champion receives an automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship, which begins Nov. 16-18.
Participants
No. 1 - St. John Fisher (8-0 E8, 17-11 Overall)
No. 2 – Hartwick (6-2 E8, 14-9 Overall)
No. 3 – Keuka (6-2 E8, 18-6 Overall)
No. 4 – Nazareth (5-3 E8, 9-17 Overall)
No. 5 – Alfred (5-3 E8, 11-13 Overall)
No. 6 – Utica (3-5 E8, 16-12 Overall)
St. John Fisher enters the tournament having won 48 straight matches against Empire 8 opponents dating back to the start of the 2019 season. The Cardinals are looking to win their fifth straight Empire 8 Championship and earn the automatic bid into the NCAA Championship for the fourth straight time. The Cardinals have strong depth, with three players tallying at least 250 points on the seasons. The duo of first-year standouts Kaylene Noble and Ana Gutman leads the Fisher attack. Noble has team-best totals of 323 kills and 376.5 points, while adding 240 digs and 36 blocks. Gutman leads the E8 with a .324 hitting percentage and leads the conference with 85 blocks and is second with 0.89 blocks per set. Delayne Young has added 258 kills, while Reilly Morrow leads the E8 with 842 assists. Sophomore libero Kiera Hartpence leads the Empire 8 with 390 digs, averaging just under 4.0 per set.
Hartwick, the number two seed for the third straight season advanced to the E8 title game for the first time in program history last year. Hartwick enters the 2023 E8 Tournament with a 14-9 overall record this season and went 6-2 in league play. Junior Staecia Silofau leads the Hawks with 250 kills to go along with 182 digs and 56 blocks, while Aaliyah Williams leads the league with 0.90 blocks per set. Shaelyn Thornton leads the E8 with 0.60 service aces per set and has chipped in with 240 digs and 203 kills. First-year Vanessa Seymour is third in the league, averaging 8.77 assists per set (728 total), Sarah Petz leads Hartwick with 266 digs (3.2 per set)
Keuka is in the Empire 8 Championship for the second time since joining in 2021. The Wolves earned the No. 3 seed after finishing 6-2 in league play. Keuka enters the E8 Tournament with a 18-6 overall record. Senior outside hitter Dayna Edholm leads all Empire 8 student-athletes with 4.13 kills and 4.70 points per set. She is hitting .242 on the season and has 343 kills to go along with 253 digs. Setter Casey Hunziker leads the league with 9.12 assists per set, while Emma Sipos is pacing the way with 4.19 digs per set and has added 53 service aces. Middle hitter Camey Knapp has added 180 kills and a team-best .243 hitting percentage.
Nazareth finished tied for fourth in the league standings with a 5-3 mark. Versatile junior Tessa Grover leads all of Division III with nine triple-doubles on the season. She serves as both valuable hitter from the right side and can be Nazareth’s setter. Grover, a AVCA National Player of the Week, is averaging 3.54 assists, 3.51 kills, 2.23 digs and 0.71 blocks per set this season, while hitting .251. She is among the top-five in the league in hitting percentage, kills per set, blocks per set and total points per set. Leah Fusilli has 191 kills and a team-high 38 service aces, while Ella Kules leads the Golden Flyers with 457 assists and has added 37 service aces. Jenna Mattison leads Nazareth with 280 digs. Rylee Loomis and Ruth Jackson have also played a vital role in Nazareth’s success this season. The Golden Flyers are looking to win their ninth E8 title and first since 2018.
Alfred advanced to the Empire 8 Tournament for the fifth time in program history and fourth time since 2017. The Saxons are looking for their first E8 title and enter the tourney with 11 wins on the season. Sophomore Taylor Malone is second in the conference, averaging 3.91 points per set and third with 4.234 points per set. Senior Casey Grange has added 198 kills, while Darian Ortiz is second in digs per set (3.94 per set) and has added 39 service aces on the season. Delaney Sims leads Alfred with 686 assists.
Utica is in the Empire 8 Tournament for the second straight season and fourth time in program history. The Pioneers enter having finished the regular with a 16-12 record. Senior Eleanor Cepiel is among the E8 leaders with 332 kills and 3.77 kills per set to go along with 335 digs. She was the AVCA National Player of the Week on Sept. 27. Libero Cassi Wageman has 291 digs, while Lauren Jones and Madison Maggiore have 46 service aces apiece. Maggiore also leads the Pioneers with 404 assists and Caitlyn Esposito has a team-best 40 blocks.
Both higher seeds won their regular season matchups against their first round opponents. Nazareth defeated Alfred in three sets on Sept. 30, while Keuka defeated Utica in five sets on Oct. 11. Looking ahead to the semifinals, St. John Fisher defeated Nazareth in three sets and Alfred in four sets earlier in the season, while Hartwick upended Keuka in five sets on Sept. 29 and Utica in four sets the following day.
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 X (@Empire8).
2023 Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship Schedule
Tuesday, November 7 – First Round (at Higher Seed)
No. 5 Alfred at No. 4 Nazareth – 7 p.m.
No. 6 Utica at No. 3 Keuka – 7 p.m.
Thursday, November 9 – Semifinals (at St. John Fisher)
Winner of Nazareth vs. Alfred at No. 1 St. John Fisher – 7 p.m.
Winner of Keuka vs. Utica at No. 2 Hartwick – 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 11 - Championship Final (at Higher Seed)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 – TBA
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.
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