ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team avenged a weekend loss in non-conference action to Elmira College with a 3-1 win on Wednesday with the match counting towards the Empire 8 records.
 
The Saxons (3-19, 3-3 Empire 8) took the match with set scores of 25-19, 17-25, 25-20 and a dominant, 25-15 fourth set. "I was very proud of the way we responded after losing to Elmira this past weekend," Head Coach, Dakota 'Dak' Pruiss said. "We came out with a purpose to win and this match put us in good connection for the Empire 8 tournament. Karina [Morling] had a stellar night at the net for us both offensively and defensively. Sarah 'Brucie' [Huzyk] and Alex [Taylor] also stabilized our defense on the floor. The only three words I have for that win was that we played with pride, passion and purpose."
 
Every Saxon that stepped on the court Wednesday night recorded a point as they totaled 40 kills, 12 aces, six block assists and four solo blocks. All of those stats, with exception to the block assists, were match-highs over Elmira who posted 36 kills, eight aces, eight block assists and only two block solos.
 
The first set saw six lead changes with Elmira's last lead being an 18-15 advantage. The Saxons closed that gap, took the lead and then took the set with a huge, 10-1 run. During that period, Alfred University was led by Sarah Huzyk (North Chili, NY/Churchville-Chili) with not one, not two, but three aces. Amber Smith (Penfield, NY/Webster Schroeder) tacked on two kills while Karina Morling (Canisteo, NY/Canisteo-Greenwood) began the run with her kill.
 
The third set proved to be a bit more challenging for the Saxons as they were holding a 21-15 lead over the Soaring Eagles who battled back with a 4-2 run, making it 23-19 in favor of AU. After an attacking error by each team, with the third set score at 24-20 Saxons, Smith claimed the set with a kill off an Amanda Burns (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush) assist.
 
In the fourth set, Alfred University got on the board first with a 2-0 lead, Elmira managed to tie it later at five each and then the Saxons throttled through the rest of the set as they never allowed the Soaring Eagles to come close to the lead. After the 5-5 tying point from Elmira, Alfred scored five, unanswered points to begin a 13-3 run, resulting in the evening's largest lead. The Saxons and Soaring Eagles exchanged blows in the final moments of the match before Morling scored the final two points with a kill to make it 24-15 (Burns assist) and a solo block for the match-winning point.
 
Overall, the Saxons were led by Smith's 15.0 points off of 14 kills and one solo block. Morling followed with 14.5 points from 11 kills, one block assist and a huge, three solo blocks. Sarah Raeman (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) chipped in 8.5 points from eight kills and one block assist. Burns totaled 6.5 points from a match-leading five aces as well as one kill and one assisted block. Elisabeth Estep (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) had 5.5 points from three kills, two aces and on block assist. Lainey Arneson (Yorktown, VA/Tabb) tallied 4.0 points from three kills and two block assists. Huzyk had 3.0 points off of three aces. Both Alex Taylor (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Los Osos) and Rachael Moravansky (Mount Airy, MD/Linganore) had an ace each as they totaled 1.0 points each. Wednesday's road match was the first match all season where every Saxon scored a point.
 
Defensively, the Saxons were led by Huzyk with her 20 digs while Estep also broke double-digits with 11 of her own. Both Taylor and Smith had nine. Burns and Raeman had four digs and two digs, respectively while Moravansky added one. Burs led AU with 35 set assists while Huzyk was credited with one.
 
Alfred University will next round out its Empire 8 Conference regular season schedule with a crossover match at Utica College against the Pioneers and the Hawks of Hartwick College on Saturday, October 20. They begin the day with a 1:30PM match against Hartwick and then a 4PM match against Utica as they look to earn a spot in the Empire 8 Playoffs for the second year in a row.