Women's Volleyball | 11/12/2025 8:10:49 PM
No. 1 seed St. John Fisher University (28-1) and No. 2 seed Hartwick College (22-10) will meet for the 2025 Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship after earning home victories in semifinal action on Wednesday, November 12. St. John Fisher rolled to a three-set win over No. 4 seed SUNY Geneseo, while No. 2 Hartwick earned a reverse sweep, five-set victory over No. 3 SUNY Brockport.
St. John Fisher and Hartwick will meet for the 2025 E8 Women's Volleyball Championship from Manning-Napier Varsity Gymnasium at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 15. The Cardinals earned a three-set win at Hartwick on Oct. 10 by scores of 25-23, 25-15, 25-19. Kaylene Noble led St. John Fisher with 14 kills and hit .364 to go along with 10 digs, while Reilly Morrow dished out 38 assists. Shelby Swartz had 14 kills for Hartwick, while Ellie Kalbach added 13 digs.
St. John Fisher is looking to win its sixth E8 title in the last seven seasons and second straight championship. St. John Fisher won four straight championships from 2019-2022, defeating Hartwick in the 2022 title match in three of those seasons. Hartwick is looking for its first Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball Championship and is in the title game for the second time.
The winner of the 2025 Empire 8 Championship receives and automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship, which begins next weekend.
NO. 1 ST. JOHN FISHER 3, No. 4 SUNY GENESEO 0
Top-seeded St. John Fisher extended its winning streak to 28 matches, improving to 28-1 on the season after defeating No. 4 SUNY Geneseo, 25-20, 25-21, 25-17 from Manning-Napier Varsity Gym.
Fisher pushed its winning streak to 28 matches, won its 20th straight match against a conference opponent and improved to 37-2 since a four-set loss to Nazareth last October with Wednesday's victory.
Senior setter Reilly Morrow and senior libero Kiera Hartpence produced double-doubles. Morrow dished out 30 assists and amassed a career-high 20 digs as part of her seventh double-double of the season. Hartpence notched just the third double-double of her collegiate career, recording a season-high 10 assists with 13 digs for the Cardinals, who .276 in the match and had 44 assists on 45 kills. Freshman outside hitter Kalyna Dannenberg had the hot hand for the Cardinals offensively, matching her season-high with 16 kills while hitting .361. She also had two blocks as part of an 18-point night.
The Knights hung tough in the first set, but the Cardinals pulled away late with a 7-3 run to secure a 25-20 victory. Dannenberg slammed five kills and hit .571 in the opening frame, while junior outside hitter Kaylene Noble had four kills and hit .667.
A plucky Geneseo team made Fisher work even harder in the second set, leading by as many as five at various points and by four, 20-16, down the stretch. The Cardinals, though, once again showed championship grit, going on a 9-1 run to close out a 25-21 victory. Dannenberg and sophomore outside hitter Lydia Fraser each had a pair of kills during that stretch.
Dannenberg finished the second set with six kills on a .294 hitting percentage. Morrow had 10 assists and eight digs in the frame.
The Cardinals rode the momentum they generated at the end of the second set into the third, completing the sweep with a 25-17 victory. They slammed 14 kills and hit a match-high .344 as a team, with Dannenberg leading the way with five kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Fraser added four and hit .250.
The Cardinals own the second-longest active winning streak in Division III and all NCAA levels. East Texas Baptist (29 matches) holds the longest streak. They also have 23 wins by three-set sweep this season, a program record in the rally scoring era.
Kathryn Barba led Geneseo with eight kills, while Carolyn Mack dished out 20 assists and Zoory Gagnier had 11 digs. Cory Elder and McKenna Callari each had a match-high three service aces for the Knights, who had their season come to an end with a 15-12 record.
NO. 2 HARTWICK 3, NO. 3 SUNY BROCKPORT 2
No. 2 seed Hartwick pulled off the dramatic reverse sweep, coming back from two sets down to defeat SUNY Brockport from Lambros Gymnasium. Brockport won the first two sets, 25-22, 25-18, before Hartwick came roaring back, taking the final three sets by scores of 25-21, 25-19, 15-6.
Lucille Walker (Ithaca, N.Y.) and
Shelby Swartz (Candor, N.Y.), both tallied 16 kills apiece for Hartwick. Swartz would also lead in service aces, tallying up 3.
Braelyn Hornick (Candor, N.Y.) again commanded the offense with a total of 45 assists to make up for 78% of the Hawks' assists.
On the defensive side,
Malia Dake (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) would stand out with 22 digs while
Samantha Garback (Tully, N.Y.) amassed 8 total blocks.
The Hawks would be the ones to strike first in this heated semifinals matchup, with Swartz delivering the first kill to get Hartwick on the board early. Walker and
Isabella Gracias (Oneonta, N.Y.) would keep the momentum going by leading the offensive charge, but Brockport would answer back with a relentless fury to take both the first and second set.
With the match on the line, the Hawks exploded in the third set, with combined efforts from Hornick, Walker, and
Sophia Palladino (Owego, N.Y.) bringing the Hawks to an 11-point lead. Swartz was all over the court to bury multiple kills– including the final of the set– to keep the Hawks' championship final hopes alive.
The fourth set opened off of four critical serves from Palladino, who gave Walker and Swartz the opening to attack early. However, the Golden Eagles fought hard to knot the fourth set several times. Despite these efforts, several aces from Swartz on service and a streak of four consecutive kills from Walker would give the Hawks the edge to take the fourth and force a deciding fifth set.
In the crucial fifth set, the Royal Blue and White would exploit several Brockport errors off serves from Dake combined with kills from Swartz to pull ahead for a solid 8-1 lead. The Golden Eagles made a valiant effort to stay in the match, but they were overpowered by the Hawks' offense. The Hawks would secure the majority of sets to advance onto the Empire 8 Championship Finals.
Alexis Sison recorded a double-double for the Golden Eagles, with 17 digs to go along with 16 kills and seven blocks. Kaitlyn Jewett had 45 assists and 17 digs, while Ana Parella had 10 kills and eight blocks. Alenna Williamson hit .346 with 11 kills for the Golden Eagles, who finish the season with a 17-10 mark.
2025 Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball Championship Schedule
Saturday, November 8 – First Round
No. 1 St. John Fisher defeats No. 8 Alfred – 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-18) – BOX SCORE
No. 2 Hartwick defeats No. 7 Utica – 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-15) – BOX SCORE
No. 3 SUNY Brockport defeats No. 6 Russell Sage – 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-15) – BOX SCORE
No. 4 SUNY Geneseo defeats No. 5 Houghton – 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-7) – BOX SCORE
Wednesday, November 12 – Semifinals (at Higher Seed)
No. 1 St. John Fisher defeated No. 4 SUNY Geneseo, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-17) – BOX SCORE
No. 2 Hartwick defeated No. 3 SUNY Brockport, 3-2 (22-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-19, 15-6) – BOX SCORE
Saturday, November 15 - Championship Final
No. 2 Hartwick at No. 1 St. John Fisher – 1 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Site: Higher Seeds for all games
Admission
$10.00 - Adults
$2.00 - Students and seniors with ID
Free - Children under 12