ALFRED, NY- After earning their first Empire 8 Conference Tournament win in program history, the Alfred University women's volleyball team will turn their sights towards #1 St. John Fisher College during the Semifinals. The Saxons and Cardinals are scheduled to play on Thursday at 7pm from the Manning & Napier Varsity Gym.

Fans can tune into the game with the following link: https://tinyurl.com/4wcpxfkt
Please follow live stats with the following link: https://tinyurl.com/2de45mcf

The Saxons won the first and fourth sets before securing the fifth set in their contested victory over Houghton College in the first round of the Empire 8 Tournament. The set scores were 25-20, 23-25, 19-25, 25-21 and 15-12 in Alfred's favor. The victory snapped a 31-year streak in which Alfred has not defeated Houghton.

The Saxons and Cardinals last met earlier in the regular season, as St. John Fisher came away with wins in both matchups. The first match favored St. John Fisher by set scores of 15-25, 25-17, 22-25, and 15-25. Despite close competition in each of the first two sets during the second match, the Cardinals won by set scores of 21-25, 22-25, 11-25.

"It's going to be important for us to recover considering the quick turnaround," Head Coach Dakota Pruiss said. "From a preparation standpoint, we are going to continue to play to our strengths. Volleyball tends to be a puzzle in a lot of cases, so it's all about finding the advantages that works best in our favor."

Sophomore Kayle Hatfield (Descanso, CA/Granite Hill) recorded a team-high nine kills during Alfred's previous meeting against St. John Fisher. Sophomore Darian Ortiz (Santa Fe, NM/St. Michael's) shined on the defensive end for the Saxons, finishing with 24 digs in the first match.

"Our success this season has come from more of a mental standpoint rather than physical," Pruiss said. "We have been able to develop a winning mindset and that showed in our efforts against Houghton. We have been able to dig deep over the course of the season and improve together."

The Saxons enter the Semifinals with continued momentum, as multiple players shined during the first round of the Empire 8 Tournament. Senior Sarah Raeman (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) was responsible for 17 kills on 45 attacks, while first-year Honor Edmands (Reno, NV/Reno) finished with 16.5 points for the Saxons, including two service aces and five block assists. Junior Amanda Burns (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush) recorded a match-high 27 set assists to go with one ace, one solo block, and one block assist.