Women's Volleyball | 11/7/2026 7:48:44 PM
Top-seed St. John Fisher University, No. 2 SUNY Geneseo, No. 3 Hartwick University and No. 5 Alfred University advanced in the 2026 Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament after earning victories in quarterfinal action on Saturday, Nov. 7. St. John Fisher University knocked off No. 8 seed SUNY Brockport in a five-set thriller, while SUNY Geneseo defeated No. 7 Nazareth University in three sets. Hartwick earned a four-set victory over No. 6 Russell Sage College, while Alfred won in five sets on the road at No. 4 Houghton University.
Semifinal action will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 11. No. 1 seed St. John Fisher will face No. 5 Alfred in the first semifinal match at 6 p.m. from Manning-Napier Varsity Gymnasium at 6 p.m. No. 2 SUNY Geneseo will host No. 3 Hartwick in the second semifinal, also at 6 p.m. from Schraeder Gymnasium. The two semifinal winners will meet for the championship at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Earlier this season, St. John Fisher defeated semifinal opponent Alfred in three sets, 25-9, 25-18, 25-18 from Manning-Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Oct. 2, as Kaylene Noble led the way for the Cardinals with 12 kills and hit .391. SUNY Geneseo defeated semifinal foe Hartwick in three sets from Lambros Gymnasium in Hartwick, 25-20, 25-22, 25-13 on Oct. 3 behind 10 kills apiece from Cory Elder and Kathryn Barba
The Cardinals are looking to win their third straight E8 title and seventh in the last eight years, while Alfred is looking to win its second title, having also won in 2023. Geneseo and Hartwick are both looking to secure their first E8 crown.
NO. 1 ST. JOHN FISHER 3, NO. 8 SUNY BROCKPORT 2
The Cardinals rallied to win the final two sets and earn a hard-fought, five set win on Saturday afternoon. St. John Fisher, who extended its winning streak to 15 matches, improved to 22-6 on the season, while SUNY Brockport had its season end with an 11-12 mark.
The opening set featured back-and-forth play, with neither team able to establish control. The score was tied 12 times, with five lead changes. Trailing 16-12, the Cardinals responded with a 7-1 run, highlighted by three kills from senior outside hitter Kaylene Noble. Fisher closed out the set with a 25-23 victory to take an early 1-0 lead. Noble finished with five kills, while junior outside hitter Lydia Fraser added four.
Brockport took an early lead in the second set, building an 8-5 advantage. After Fisher pulled within 10-9, the Golden Eagles went on a 6-1 run to extend their lead to 16-10. Brockport maintained its momentum and claimed the set, 25-19, to even the match at one set apiece. Fraser led the Cardinals with six kills, while Noble added four.
The Golden Eagles carried their momentum into the third set, jumping out to an 8-3 lead. Fisher attempted to rally late, putting together a 5-1 run led by sophomore outside hitter Kalyna Dannenberg, who recorded two kills during the stretch. However, Brockport held on to take the set, 25-21, and regain the match lead. Dannenberg finished the set with six kills.
The fourth set featured another closely contested battle. With Brockport leading 18-14, Fisher responded with a 7-1 run to take a 21-19 advantage. Dannenberg contributed two kills during the run as the Cardinals regained control. Fisher went on to win the set, 25-23, tying the match at two sets apiece and forcing a decisive fifth set. Fraser led the way with five kills.
In the fifth and final set, Fisher took control early. Up 7-5, the Cardinals went on a 5-0 run to reach 12-5, with Fraser recording three kills during the stretch. Fisher maintained its lead and secured the match with a 15-8 victory in the deciding set.
Fraser recorded a career-high 20 kills. Junior setter Zofia Keogh dished out 50 assists, surpassing 1,000 career assists. It marked her third match this season with at least 50 assists.Noble finished with 16 kills, marking her 18th match this season with at least 16 kills. Senior middle blocker Ana Gutman recorded six total blocks, establishing a career high.
Luba Butcher had 16 kills to lead Brockport, while Elsie Logan added 24 digs.
NO. 2 SUNY GENESEO 3, NO. 7 NAZARETH 0
The second-seeded SUNY Geneseo women's volleyball team advanced to the Empire 8 Tournament semifinals with a 3-0 sweep of seventh-seeded Nazareth in the quarterfinals on Saturday at Carl Schrader Gymnasium. The Knights improved to 15-9 on the season, while Nazareth had its season come to an end with an 8-17 mark.
Geneseo opened the first set with a
Dyllan Thomas kill, then
Zooey Gagnier served an ace and a
Kate Barba kill for a 3-0 lead. Nazareth rallied to take an 8-6 lead, but Geneseo answered with a 3-0 run to go ahead 12-9, with two Nazareth attack errors and an ace from
Jessica Macken. Thomas and Barba each added a kill, and a Nazareth error made it 16-12. Geneseo built the lead to 18-13 on a block by
Ayla Pas'cal and
Gianna Lucchi, and later scored four straight points, from 20-15 to 23-15, with Pas'cal serving two aces and
Sophie Hunter adding a kill. Nazareth cut it to 23-16, and Thomas closed the set 25-16 with a kill off a Macken set.
Nazareth led 8-7 early in the second set, but Geneseo took control with a 5-0 run to lead 13-8. Pas'cal started it with a kill off a Macken set, Gagnier served an ace, Barba and Macken each added a kill, and a block by
Peyton Cole and Pas'cal capped the stretch. Geneseo scored three straight points, from 15-11 to 18-11, on two Hunter kills off Lucchi sets and a Nazareth error. After Nazareth cut it to 19-13, Geneseo scored four straight, from 19-13 to 23-13, with a Hunter kill, a Nazareth error, a Cole kill off a Gagnier set and another Nazareth error. Barba closed the set 25-18 with a kill off a Macken set.
Geneseo started the third set with a 5-0 run. Cole put down a kill off a Thomas set, Gagnier served two aces, and Barba added two kills.
Ellie McLennan then served three straight points, with a Nazareth error, an ace and a Nazareth bad set, to lead 9-1. Barba served the next four points, with a Barba kill, a Nazareth error and two aces, to lead 13-2. Pas'cal added a kill and an ace to make it 16-3, and Thomas and Hunter each put down kills for an 18-5 lead. Nazareth scored six straight to cut it to 20-11, but a Cole kill and two Barba kills restored the margin. A block by Lucchi and
Finnly Pas'cal gave Geneseo set and match point, and a Nazareth attack error ended it 25-12.
Kate Barba led the Knights with 13 kills and two aces.
Sophie Hunter had eight kills and hit .538, and
Ayla Pas'cal added seven kills, hit .545, and served three aces.
Geneseo hit .326 as a team, compared to Nazareth's .111, and had an 11-3 edge in aces. Leag Fusilli led Nazareth with seven kills, while Alana Lucey added five.
NO. 3 HARTWICK 3, NO. 6 RUSSELL SAGE 1
Hartwick pulled away in the third and fourth sets to defeat Russell Sage, 3-1, at Lambros Gymnasium in opening round play of the Empire 8 Tournament. The Hawks improved to 14-11 overall, while that Gators finished 2026 with a 14-16 mark.
NO. 5 ALFRED 3, NO. 4 HOUGHTON 2
Alfred University traveled to Houghton and defeated the four-seed in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament 3-2 in a five-set thriller on Saturday afternoon.
"I'm so honored to coach this group! They played with heart, passion, and a real never-say-die spirit," Head Coach
Mike Honeycutt said. "Winning on the road against a team we hadn't beaten in five tries shows just how strong we are together. Our bench was amazing - they kept the energy high and deserve just as much credit for this win as everyone on the court!"
The Saxons (14-16) have advanced in the tournament for the first time since 2023, which was also the last time they defeated the Highlanders. Houghton had season end with a 12-16 mark.
After dropping the first set 25-12, AU would respond in kind with two close wins in sets two and three, 25-22 and 26-24, respectively.
Carleigh Santavy (Commerce, MI/Walled Lake Northern) dominated the court with the team-high in kills (14), aces (2), blocks (4) and digs (13) for 18.5 points.
Two other Saxons hit double-digits in kills, with
Julia Abbott (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) recording 11 kills and
Abigail Omelan (Tomball, TX/Tomball Memorial) hitting 10 kills.
Gillian Dickerson (Frisco, TX/Wakeland) helped set up those kills with 39 sets.
In the consequential third set which needed an extra point to win, AU roared back from set point with four straight points to get the set and take a 2-1 advantage at the time. In the deciding fifth set, AU would pull ahead after an early 3-3 tie with five straight points and a couple of kills by Abbott assisted by
Catherina Krause (Pflugerville, TX/Hendrickson) to pull ahead.
The Saxons ended the fifth set with another string of points and one final kill by Santavy to put them through. AU heads into the final four, facing a familiar foe the last time they were in this position.
Alexa Belanger led Houghton with 15 digs and 14 kills, while Praylan Perkins hit .263 with 13 kills and Petra Thomas added 11 kills.
2026 Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball Championship Schedule
Saturday, November 7 – First Round
No. 1 St. John Fisher defeated No. 8 SUNY Brockport, 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-8) – BOX SCORE
No. 2 SUNY Geneseo defeated No. 7 Nazareth, 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-12) – BOX SCORE
No. 3 Hartwick College defeated No. 6 Russell Sage, 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-16, 25-19) – BOX SCORE
No. 5 Alfred defeated No. 4 Houghton, 3-2 (12-25, 25-22, 26-24, 21-25, 15-9) – BOX SCORE
Wednesday, November 11 – Semifinals (at Higher Seed)
No. 5 Alfred University at No. 1 St. John Fisher University – 6 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
No. 3 Hartwick College at No. 2 SUNY Geneseo – 6 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Saturday, November 14 - Championship Final
Winner of Semifinal Game 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal Game 2 at Highest Remaining Seed – 1 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS