ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team defeated Nazareth University for the first time since 2000 and the first time in three sets and at Naz since 1999 on Tuesday night, moving past the First Round of the Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament.
 
The Saxons (12-13, 5-3 Empire 8) came from behind in the first set to top the Golden Flyers (9-18, 5-3 Empire 8), 25-21. They then claimed a strong second set win, 25-17 before an absolute blazer of a third set, resulting in extra points as the Saxons claimed a 26-24 match-clinching set win.
 
"Words escape me right now with all the feelings this historical win brings," Head Coach Mike Honeycutt said. "I'm so proud of how we came together and played with heart and grit!"
 
Taylor Malone (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) led the match, doubling any player in points with 21.0 from 19 kills, a service ace and two block assists. She had a double-double, recording a match-high 11 digs as well while chipping in three set assists. Naz's leading scorer was Tessa Grover with 10.5 points from nine kills, one ace and one block assist.
 
Delaney Sims (Bogart, GA/George Walton Academy) once again had more set assists than the entire opposing team combined with 35 out of the Saxons' 43. Naz totaled 26 set assists on Tuesday. Sims chipped in 6.0 points from five kills (no errors on 11 attacks for a match-high of .455 out of players with 10 or more attacks) and one ace.
 
Darian Ortiz (Santa Fe, NM/St. Michael's) had 10 digs in the match. All but one Saxon contributed points and digs in the win. Casey Grange (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) had 7.0 points from kills, Cara Bratthauar (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg Area) added 6.5 points from six kills and one block assist, Jamie Chun (Hilo, HI/Hilo) had three kills and a match-high three aces for 6.0 points, Fiona McNeil (Fayetteville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) added 5.5 points from kills and one half block while Anjoeline Armstrong (Simi Valley, CA/Bishop Alemany) chipped in one ace to round out the scoring.
 
In the first set, the Saxons got out to an early, 4-1 lead before the Golden Flyers chipped back to tie it, 4-4. They would then battle back-and-forth until Naz had an 11-8 lead, then a 17-11 lead and eventually a 21-15 lead with all signs pointing to a home set win. AU scored the next 10 points to close out the set with the 1-0 match lead. During the spree, Malone had five kills, Chun and Bratthauar added one each and Sims' ace came on the 25^th point to put it away.
 
AU began the second set with a dominant, 12-2 start and eventually had the night's largest lead, 15-4 before the Golden Flyers scrapped back to a 23-17 AU lead. Malone scored the 24^th point with a kill just before Ortiz registered her one kill with an over-the-head bump that found floor on Naz's side, uncontested.
 
The third set looked very much like the beginning of the first set but quickly became a back-and-forth effort by both teams. AU was the first team to 24 with a 24-23 lead after a Malone kill. Jillian Panek of Naz tied it with a kill at 24-24. Malone then scored the 25^th point with a kill before scoring the match-clinching, upset point off a service ace.
 
The Saxons will next travel to the #1 seeded Cardinals of St. John Fisher University on Thursday, November 9 for a 7:00pm Semifinal match.