ALBANY, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team won its Empire 8 matchup at Russell Sage College on Saturday afternoon, 3-1 for the second time during the 2022 season.
 
The Saxons (5-11, 2-5 Empire 8) won the first set, 25-17, before the Gators (4-19, 1-6 Empire 8) made things interesting. The Saxons and Gators had to go to extra points in the second set, with AU coming out on top, 27-25. RSC took the third set, again with extra points, 26-24. The Saxons captured the win with a dominant fourth set, 25-10.
 
"This was a great team win! Winning a conference match on the road makes for a great end to the weekend," Interim Head Coach, Mike Honeycutt said. "We hung tough through sets two and three. We came out strong and set the tone in the fourth set and got the win. Very happy for the team and how well they played today."
 
The Saxons' overhead game was the key as every single player had positive hitting percentages and AU held a strong, 15-7. They also had a 10-2 block advantage at the net. Two Saxons were in the double-digit scoring milestones with two more knocking on the door. Casey Grange (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) had 16 kills and three block assists for a team-leading 17.5 points while adding 17 digs. Jamie Chun (Hilo, HI/Hilo) had 13 kills, two aces and a block assist for 15.5 points.
 
Fiona McNeil (Fayetteville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) and Darian Ortiz (Santa Fe, NM/St. Michael's) both had 8.0 points. McNeil had six kills and a match-high four block assists while Ortiz had a match-high six aces.
 
Jade K Wolfer (Nunda, NY/Keshequa) followed Ortiz with four aces and Anjoeline Armstrong (Simi Valley, CA/Bishop Alemany) had three aces. Mehlani Lopez (Los Angeles, CA/Sacred Heart) had four kills and a block assist for 4.5 points and Kristin Finley (Kenyon, MN/Kenyon-Wanamingo) had a kill and a block assist to close out the scoring with 1.5 points.
 
Armstrong led the Saxons with 22 digs to go along with Grange's 17. Chun had 10 digs and Ortiz had nine. Ortiz had a match-high 36 set assists.
 
Staring down a Saxon, 22-14 second set lead, the Gators pushed back with a nine-point run, taking the lead, 23-22. The Gators were the first to 25 points off a Saxon service error but two Grange kills and a Sage attack error closed out the second set.
 
AU held a 14-10 lead in the third. After some back-and-forth scoring, the lead was cut to 17-16. Sage took control with a 7-2 run, making it 23-19. The Saxons battled back with a 5-1 run to tie the set, 24-24. A Gator kill and Saxon attack error forced a fourth set, in which it was all AU, walking away with the 25-10 clincher.
 
The Saxons will next close out their Empire 8 schedule. First, they host St. John Fisher University on Friday, October 21 at 6:00pm in the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena. Then they have Nazareth College on Senior Day on Saturday, October 22 at 1:00pm.