ROCHESTER, NY –The Alfred University women's volleyball team ended its history season with a four-set loss to #1 seeded St. John Fisher College in the Empire 8 Playoffs' Semifinal Round on Thursday evening.
 
The Saxons (5-6, 3-3 Empire 8) got down early after Fisher won the first and second sets before coming back to win the third set. Fisher closed the evening out with a fourth set win. The Saxons' set scores in the loss were 17-25, 18-25, 25-20 and 17-25. "I am very proud of this team. This has definitely been a unique season and I am so thankful for how AUVB adapted to their surroundings and persevered through it all to the end," Head Coach Dakota Pruiss said. "2021 is just starting for us. What we just went through, that is now in the past. We will look forward to a more normal, actual 2021 season as long as we keep to our three core values of Pride, Passion and Purpose, we'll see a lot of exciting products of our hard work come August."
 
Sarah Raeman (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) tied her career-high with 17 kills to lead Alfred, hitting a match-high (five or more attacks) hit percentage. She had 36 attempts and only four errors for a .361. She finished with 17.0 points as the only Saxon hitting double-digits compared to the three Cardinal players that scored in double-figures, none of which was close to Raeman's score. With the closing of the season, Raeman has now hit a .267 on the season with 110 kills. The Alfred University school record (with a minimum season requirement of 50 kills) is .257 set by Sara Beatty '04 in 2001. Raeman now owns the single-season attack percentage school record.
 
"Sarah has put forth a lot of effort in her role as a leader since her early years of being part of the AUVB program," Coach Pruiss said. "Myself, as well as our coaching staff have seen her, time and time again, prove that she gives it her all no matter it being on the court, in the classroom or interacting with her teammates and classmates. Tonight's efforts as well as what she has accomplished on the week in whole have encapsulated who she is as a person and we're all very thrilled for her to earn this milestone."
 
Darian Ortiz (Santa Fe, NM/St. Michael's) led the Saxon defense with 26 digs for a match-high as she was one away from tying her career-high. She added 3.0 points from aces and had three set assists. Amanda Burns (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush) led the entire match with 31 set assists. She had one kill and one ace for 2.0 points and supplemented the defense with eight digs. The Saxons' lone block came from a solo effort by Honor Edmands (Reno, NV/Reno). "Darian kept a lot of volleys alive for us tonight and really had a hold on our defensive reigns," Coach Pruiss said. "It's always a show when she's on the court and she has especially shown how she is willing to put it all on the line until the final whistle is blown. Darian's leadership and character are prime examples on why we are so excited for the next schedule of 2021."
 
In the first set, Alfred University kept things interesting with St. John Fisher as neither team gain much of an advantage until the Cardinals pulled away after gaining the lead, 4-3. From there on, the momentum stayed in their favor with Alfred University only managing to put together back-to-back points on two occasions. St. John Fisher held a 20-12 lead after going on a 5-1 run. The Saxons made a push back, exchanging points back and forth with the Cardinals after that, with neither team scoring points, back-to-back until Fisher closed out the set, 25-17.
 
The second set was played in a near-identical fashion, back and forth to begin with neither team building momentum but St. John Fisher held the lead the entire set. Down, 5-9, AU battled back with three consecutive scores to bring it back within one, down 8-9, before the Cardinals went on a 7-3 run. It wasn't until Fisher held a 21-14 lead that the largest deficit was realized in the set. From that point, it was like the first set again, with both sides of the net exchanging blows before the Cardinals claimed a 2-0 overall score with the 25-18 second set victory.
 
Alfred University took the lead in the third set of play and forced the match to go to a fourth as they got their first advantage since the third point of the first set and never let it go, claiming the 25-20 set win. Both teams pushed each other throughout the set as Fisher would fight back to be down just one at 14-15 before AU went on a 8-2 scoring spree, advancing their lead to 23-16. The Cardinals made one last-ditch effort to battle back, scoring four out of the five points before a kill by Raeman closed the set and forced a fourth.
 
The Saxons' season came to a close in the fourth set despite a very determined effort in the fourth set. Fisher began the fourth set with a 6-3 lead. AU pushed back to tie the set at seven points each and took its first lead of the period with a 12-11 score after a Fisher ball went just barely over the net on a bump, allowing Edmands to knock it down. St. John Fisher responded with a 10-1 run, earning the match's largest lead of 21-13. From there on out, it was back to how the first three sets were played with both teams exchanging scores before the Cardinals earned an advancement to the Empire 8 Championships with the deciding, 25-17 set score, winning Thursday's match, 3-1.
 
"Though we would have very much enjoyed a different outcome, this team still makes me proud every day that they allow me to coach them. I truly love interacting with them and helping them grow and excel, not just as Saxon Student-Athletes, but as soon-to-be professionals once they graduate from Alfred University," Coach Pruiss said. "I would also like to thank our tremendous athletic training staff, our staff in the strength & condition program and the rest of Athletics Department administration. One of my biggest thanks have to go to Coach Mike Honeycutt and Coach Laura De Rosales as they help make my life so much easier and they really help with our Saxons becoming better people."