NEW PALTZ, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team defeated Russell Sage College in four sets to open the weekend tournament at SUNY New Paltz on Friday evening.
 
The Saxons (2-3, 0-0 Empire 8) met their fellow conference team in a non-conference matchup on Friday, winning the first, third and fourth sets. The first and third sets were all Alfred as the Saxons topped the Gators, 25-9 and 25-10. The match went into a fourth set after Sage won 26-24 in the second set while AU posted the same score in the fourth to claim the Friday night win.
 
Kayle Hatfield (Descanso, CA/Granite Hills) led AU with 13.0 points from 13 kills. She totaled a double-double by adding 11 digs as one of four Saxons in double-digit digs. "I'm very proud of tonight being an amazing team effort on our part," Head Coach Dakota Pruiss said. "This group has so much talent across depth and position so it's enjoyable to watch everyone be able to go out and perform."
 
Honor Edmands (Reno, NV/Reno) followed in points with 10.5 from nine kills, one solo block and one block assist. Jamie Chun (Hilo, HI/Hilo) had a show as she hit double-digit figures twice in digs, almost three times as she had 27 digs, topping her previous career-high of 23 digs. Every player for AU recorded a dig on the night. Joining Chun and Hatfield in double-digit digs were Anjoeline Armstrong (Simi Valley, CA/Bishop Alemany) with 14 and Darian Ortiz (Santa Fe, NM/St. Michael's) with 12.
 
Amanda Burns (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush) recorded 37 set assists, topping the entire Russell Sage roster as they combined for only 22.
 
"I think Mykayla Deyarmin had some stand-out moments emotionally for us," Coach Pruiss said. "I also loved to see Grace [DeWitte] and Anj go out and just add to our defensive talent. It's still a huge strength of ours."
 
The Saxons are back in action tomorrow morning as they take on the host New Paltz at 11:00am followed with a match against Mount Saint Mary College (NY) at 3:00pm.