ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team defeated Utica College in Empire 8 action on Sunday afternoon, 3-0 in the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.
 
The Saxons (2-1, 1-1 Empire 8) won with set scores of 25-17, 25-15 and 25-18. AU was led by senior Sarah Raeman (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) with 12.0 points from 12 kills on 24 attempts with three errors (.375 attack %) and first-year Honor Edmands (Reno, NV/Reno) with 11.0 points from 10 kills on 20 attempts with three errors (.350 attack %) and one service ace.
 
Sophomore Darian Ortiz (Santa Fe, NM/St. Michael's) was the Saxons' libero for the match as she led the defense with 19 digs while tallying a match-high and season-high four aces while having four set assists. Amanda Burns (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush) had the match-high in set assists with 32.
 
"I was very pleased with our team's ability to execute our scouting report. The Utica squad was the most offensive unit we have seen from them in years, so to grab the sweep is very enjoyable," Head Coach Dakota Pruiss said. "I think our offense matched our defense today and Sarah Raeman's ability to side out for us came through. I also think Amanda Burns ran an amazing offense today."
 
Seven different Alfred University players posted scores for the day as Rylee Russin (Broomfield, CO/Broomfield), Kayle Hatfield (Descanso, CA/Granite Hills), Fiona McNeil (Fayettefille, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt), Ortiz and Burns all joined Raeman and Edmands with either kills or aces.
 
The match started with three lead changes as Utica got the early 4-1 lead but the Saxons popped back to a 7-6 lead. The Pioneers reclaimed shortly after with a 9-8 advantage before the Saxons went on a 5-0 run for the 13-9 lead. Alfred University never lost the lead for the remainder of the day as they scored the first points in both the second and third sets.
 
The Saxons will next have their first road contest as they head to Rochester to face Nazareth College on Wednesday, March 24 for a 7:00pm match start.