Women's Volleyball | 11/14/2024 9:48:43 PM
No. 1 seed Nazareth University (17-13) and No. 2 seed St. John Fisher (20-8) University will meet for the 2024 Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship after earning home victories in semifinal action on Thursday, November 14. Nazareth rolled to a three-set win over No. 4 seed Houghton University, while No. 2 St. John Fisher earned a four-set victory over No. 6 SUNY Brockport.
Nazareth and St. John Fisher will meet for the 2024 E8 Women's Volleyball Championship from Kidera Gymnasium at 2 p.m. The Golden Flyers earned a hard-fought four-set win over St. John Fisher on Oct. 23 by scores of 25-23, 25-15, 16-25, 25-23). Tessa Grover had 15 kills and 10 digs for Nazareth, while Ana Gutmna hit .706 with 12 kills for St. John Fisher.
Nazareth is looking to win its ninth Empire 8 Championship and first since 2018, while the Cardinals are attempting to win their fifth E8 title in the last six seasons. St. John Fisher won four straight championships from 2019-2022, defeating Nazareth in the title game in three of those seasons. It is the fourth time Nazareth and Fisher are meeting in the E8 Championship, all since 2019. Nazareth is in the E8 title game for the 16th time (8-7 overall).
The winner of the 2024 Empire 8 Championship receives and automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship, which begins next weekend.
NO. 1 NAZARETH 3, NO. 4 HOUGHTON 0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-17)
Three players hit over .300 (
Tessa Grover,
Ruth Jackson, and
Zipporah Sparkman) as top-seeded Nazareth rolled past No. 4 Houghton in three sets, 25-11, 25-20, 25-17 in the Empire 8 Semifinals. Nazareth improved to 17-13 in 2024, while Houghton had its season come to an end with an 11-15 mark.
After the Highlanders took the Golden Flyers to five sets during the regular season, Nazareth brought the energy in the semifinal matchup. The Golden Flyers kept up their strong hitting for the tournament. After hitting .341 against Sage in the quarterfinals, Nazareth came back to hit .235 in the semifinals.
Nazareth gained momentum in the first set by using a 9-4 run to push its lead to 16-9.
Jenna Mattison had three service aces, while
Tessa Grover had two and added four kills on seven attempts. For the match, Grover hit .300 with eight kills, to go along with 13 assists.
In the second set, Nazareth trailed 8-4 before stringing together six-straight, capped by a
Leah Fusilli kill to take a 10-8 lead. Fusilli powered down six kills with 10 digs and four service aces. Later in the set, the score was tied at 18 Naz pulled away with seven of the last nine points.
Alana Lucey had a huge block in the third to make it 17-10 and Naz never looked back. Lucey had two block assists and two solo blocks.
Jackson hit .333 with four kills, while Sparkman had four kills on a .375 attack percentage. Sparkman also had five block assists.
Ella Kules tied a team-high with 13 assists.
NO. 2 ST. JOHN FISHER 3, NO. 6 SUNY BROCKPORT 1 (25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 25-18)
St. John Fisher University advanced to the Empire 8 title match for the fifth time in the last six seasons, earning a four-set win over SUNY Brockport from Manning-Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Thursday. The Cardinals improved to 20-8 on the season, while Brockport, playing in its first season as a member of the Empire 8 had its season come to an end with a 17-10 mark.
The Cardinals were able to avenge a four-set loss to Brockport during the regular season. The Cardinals won a tightly contested opening set before rolling in set two, 25-16. Brockport earned a 25-21 win in set three and looked to have the advantage in set four, grabbing a 16-15 lead before the Cardinals went on a 10-2 run to win the set and seal the match.
Kaylene Noble led the Cardinals with 19 kills, while Ana Gutman hit .478 with 13 kills. Reilly Morrow had a match-high 45 assists to go along with nine digs, while Kiera Hartpence had a match-high 16 digs.
Alenna Williamson led Brockport with11 kills, while Kaitlyn Jewett had 13 assists. Elsie Logan led the Golden Eagles with 13 digs.
The Cardinals hit .231 in the match and had 53 kills to 31 for Brockport.
2024 Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament 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. 2 St. John FIsher defeated No. 6 SUNY Brockport, 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 25-18) – BOX SCORE
No. 1 Nazareth defeated No. 4 Houghton, 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-17) – BOX SCORE
Saturday, November 16 (Championship)
No. 2 St. John Fisher at No. 1 Nazareth – 2 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
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