Women's Volleyball | 11/12/2024 9:48:40 PM
Three of the top four seeds advanced in the 2024 Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament after earning victories in first round action on Tuesday, Nov. 12. No. 1 Nazareth University knocked off No. 8 seed Russell Sage College, while No. 2 seed St. John Fisher University pulled away to defeat No. 7 SUNY Geneseo in four sets. No. 4 Houghton University defeated defending E8 Champion, No. 5 Alfred University in four sets, while No. 6 SUNY Brockport was the lone lower seed to advance, defeating No. 3 Hartwick on the road in four sets.
Semifinal action will take place on Thursday, Nov. 14. No. 2 seed St. John Fisher will face No. 6 SUNY Brockport in the first semifinal match at 6 p.m. from Manning-Napier Varsity Gymnasium at 6 p.m. Top-seed Nazareth will host No. 4 Houghton in the second semifinal at 7 p.m. The two winners will meet for the championship at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, Nov. 16.
Earlier this season, Nazareth defeated semifinal opponent Houghton in five sets at Kidera Gymnasium on Oct. 29, while Brockport defeated semifinal foe St. John Fisher in four sets from Jim and John Vlogiantis Gymnasium on Oct. 4.
NO. 1 NAZARETH 3, NO. 8 RUSSELL SAGE 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-15)
Top-seeded Nazareth took care of business on Tuesday, downing No. 8 Russell Sage in three sets, 25-22, 25-20, 25-15. With the win, Nazareth advances to the Empire 8 Semifinals and will host No. 4 Houghton on Thursday at 7 p.m. Houghton defeated Alfred in three sets in the other quarterfinal match. Nazareth is now 16-13 overall, while Sage finished the year 14-14.
The Golden Flyers got off to a slow start in the opening set and fell behind 12-8. Nazareth gained its footing and took the lead 15-14 following a service ace from
Tessa Grover. Grover finished with her 18th double-double of the year with 10 kills and 15 assists. She also had four digs.
Later in the set, with the score tied at 20 apiece, Nazareth scored five of the last seven points to take the set 25-22 with two kills from Grover on the run.
Nazareth led by nine in the in the second set but the Gators clawed to within one at 18-17 before the Golden Flyers rattled off four-straight points to take command of the set.
The third set was dominated by the top seed as they closed out the match 25-15. Nazareth hit .500 for the set with 11 kills on 20 attempts with just one kill. For the match, the Golden Flyers hit .341.
Alana Lucey hit an efficient .700 with seven kills to go along with three block assists.
Leah Fusilli put down nine kills and a team-high nine digs.
Ruth Jackson tallied six kills on 12 attempts (.500) and
Ella Kules had a team-high 16 assists.
Macey Salvione slammed 13 kills to lead the Gators. Katelyn Atchison added 13 digs.
NO. 2 ST. JOHN FISHER 3, NO. 7 SUNY GENESEO 1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-9, 25-16)
The No. 2 Cardinals (19-8) hit .372 as a team in a four-set victory over No. 7-seeded SUNY Geneseo (9-18) on Tuesday night. The Cardinals will be making their 16th appearance in the Empire 8 semifinals since 2004.
The Cardinals won the first set by 10, 25-15, before falling 25-23 in the second. They dominated the Knights 25-9 in the third and 25-16 in the fourth.
The Cardinals beat Geneseo in four sets for the second time this season and hit over .300 for the second time in their last three matches. They have done that five times overall this season. Their .372 hitting percentage marked their third-highest of the season. The Cardinals hit .346 in set one, .344 in set two, .471 in set three and .310 in set four.
Fisher's 55 kills marked their third most in a match this season. It was their sixth contest this season with more than 50.
Freshman outside hitter
Lydia Fraser had 16 kills and hit .324. She accounted for 19.5 points. She also had three service aces and a team-high 17 digs. Fraser has hit over .300 in six matches this season.
Sophomore middle blocker
Ana Gutman had 14 kills and hit .619. She has hit over .400 in 13 of Fisher's matches this season. Junior libero
Kiera Hartpence had three service aces and 16 digs. Junior setter
Reilly Morrow tied her season high with 46 assists. She has recorded 40 or more assists in six matches this season.
NO. 6 SUNY BROCKPORT 3, NO. 3 HARTWICK 1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 25-23)
SUNY Brockport avenged a road loss to Hartwick on Nov. 2, earning a hard-fought four set win over No. 3 Hartwick from Lambros Gymnasium on Tuesday evening. Brockport improves to 17-9, while Hartwick falls to 20-3 on the season.
NO. 4 HOUGHTON 3, NO. 5 ALFRED 0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-19)
Alexa Belanger pounded out 10 kills without committing an error, as the fourth-seeded Houghton Highlanders (11-14) defeated the fifth-seeded Alfred Saxons in straight sets to open the Empire 8 Conference Championship first round. The defending E8 Champion Saxons finish the season with a 15-9 record.
The Highlanders jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set, thanks to kills by
Lilly Bentley and
Ella Smith, and never trailed until they secured a 1-0 lead, 25-19.
With Houghton leading, 13-11 in the second set, the Highlanders quickly reeled off five straight points and eventually finished the set on a similar five-point run to take a 2-0 lead, 25-14.
In the third set, Alfred established a commanding 11-4 lead, and the Houghton faithful began to prepare themselves for a fourth set. But
Ainslie Reimer pummeled two kills and two aces to pull the Highlanders within three.
After the Saxons broke Reimer's serve, Houghton again reeled off another four points to tie the game, 12-12. With the score knotted, 15-15, the Highlanders broke the Saxons with six straight points, capped by back-to-back kills by Reimer and
Emma Cole, eventually winning the deciding set, 25-19.
Houghton collected 35 kills and committed only seven attack errors as a team, posting a .329 attack percentage. Alfred posted 33 kills but committed 28 attack errors (.045).
Reimer tallied 10 kills, 12 digs and three service aces, with only two attack errors (.421 attack percentage) for Houghton. Carleigh Santavy and Abigail Omelan had eight kills apiece for the Saxons.
2024 Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship Schedule
Tuesday, November 12 (Quarterfinals at Higher Seed)
No. 1 Nazareth defeated No. 8 Russell Sage, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-15) – BOX SCORE
No. 2 St. John Fisher defeated No 7 SUNY Geneseo, 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-9, 25-16) – BOX SCORE
No. 6 SUNY Brockport defeated No. 3 Hartwick, 3-1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 25-23) – BOX SCORE
No. 4 Houghton defeated No. 5 Alfred, 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-19) – BOX SCORE
Thursday, November 14 (Semifinals at Higher Seed)
No. 6 SUNY Brockport at No. 2 St. John FIsher – 6 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
No. 4 Houghton at No. 1 Nazareth – 7 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Saturday, November 16 (Championship)
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2 at Highest Remaining Seed - TBA – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
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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