BUFFALO, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team lost in three sets to D'Youville College Tuesday evening on the road but only lost by a combined eight points out of those three, non-conference sets.
 
The Saxons (1-12, 0-1 Empire 8) were topped by the Spartans 22-25, 24-26, 22-25. Sophomore Aubrey Totsline (Fairport, NY/Fairport) was the match-high setter with 20 set assists while junior Valerie Cardillo (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) tied D'Youville's Kaitlyn Grimm in digs with 16 on the evening.
 
The Saxons had a 24-19 lead in the second set until D'Youville went on a 6-0 run to end the visitors' hopes of a fourth set. Prior to the Spartan spree, Alfred University put together a 6-2 stand of their own. Their run was keyed by Cardillo's two kills, an ace from senior Brianna Dudick (Somers, NY/Somers) and a kill from sophomore Jacquelynn Hicks (Greenville, NY/Greenville).
 
Junior Mary Lou Patnaude (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) led the Saxons in points with nine kills, two assisted blocks and a service ace for 11 points. She also added one set assist and was third on the team in digs with 14. Cardillo was second on the team in scores with 6.5 points off of her three kills, the team-high three aces and one block assist.
 
Freshman Elisabeth Estep (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) was second on the team in both digs with 15 and also aces with two. Hicks recorded the Saxons' lone solo block while senior Chelsea Pietrzykowski (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) had the most assisted blocks with three.
 
The Saxons will next have back-to-back Empire 8 matches against St. John Fisher College and Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday, September 26 at 1:30 pm and 4:00 pm, respectively. The matches will be hosted in Hoboken, NJ by the Ducks of Stevens.