BUFFALO, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team defeated Buffalo State College on Tuesday evening on the road in four sets.
 
The Saxons (4-5, 0-0 Empire 8) dropped the first set, 22-25 but rebounded and cleaned up in the final three sets to win, 25-18, 26-24 and 25-22.
 
"Tonight's win was due to us controlling our side of the court," Head Coach Dakota 'Dak' Pruiss said. "Our offense was connecting well for our pins. Amber [Smith], Sarah [Raeman] and Rachel [Moravansky] all posted some big numbers. I'm very proud of the way we played as a team tonight."
 
Amber Smith (Penfield, NY/Webster Schroeder) led the Saxons with 19.5 points as she recorded a double-double with 18 kills and 12 digs. She added one ace and one block assist to round out her scoring while also chipping in three set assists.
 
Sarah Raeman (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) had 12 kills, one block solo and one block assist for 13.5 points while Rachael Moravansky (Mount Airy, MD/Linganore) recorded 10.0 points on nine kills and a solo block.
 
Julia Fanning (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill Senior) joined Smith as a Saxon that recorded a double-double as she had 33 set assists and 12 digs on the day. Both marks were season and career-highs for Fanning. Sarah Huzyk (North Chili, NY/Churchville-Chili) led the Saxons in digs with 21 on the evening.
 
In the second set, AU held a two-point average, 18-16 before going on a 7-2 run to close out the set and guarantee a four-set match. In that run, the Saxons had kills from Moravansky, Smith and Fanning as well as an ace from Darian Ortiz (Santa Fe, NM/St. Michael's).
 
The next set saw some neck-and-neck action as AU scored four, unanswered points to take a 23-20 lead. The Bengals put together a 4-1 run to make it a 24-24, third set. A kill from Smith and a Buffalo State attack error gave the Saxons the 26-24 set win going into the fourth.
 
In the fourth set, Buffalo State made a late comeback by stringing together a 5-2 run to be one point behind AU, 22-23. Smith and Ortiz both scored kills to close out the set and claim the match with Ortiz getting the match-clinching kill.
 
The Saxons will next go on their Saxon Nation trip where they will play four matches in Irving, TX. They open it up with a match against Millsaps College on Friday, September 13 at 11a.m. (EST).