BROCKPORT, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team claimed its first win over SUNY Brockport since 1999 with a 3-2, thrilling conference match on the road.
 
The Saxons (14-6, 6-2 Empire 8) defeated the Golden Eagles (13-7, 6-2 Empire 8) despite falling hard in the first set, 25-15. They responded with back-to-back set wins in the second and third with scores of 25-23, 25-15, respectively. The hosts claimed a 25-18 fourth set win that pushed the match into the deciding fifth set, where the Saxons clinched the match with a 15-12 finale.
 
Three Saxons had double-digit scores as Carleigh Santavy (Commerce, MI/Walled Lake Northern) tied for a match-high of 18.0 points off a match-high 18 kills. Taylor Malone (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) added 14.5 points on 12 kills, two solo blocks and one block assist. Cara Bratthauar (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg Area) tacked on 11.5 points with nine kills, two solo blocks and one block assist.
 
Catherina Krause (Pflugerville, TX/Hendrickson) followed close by with 8.0 points from six kills and two solo blocks.
 
Delaney Sims (Bogart, GA/George Walton Academy) had the Saxons' lone double-double as she had a match-high 42 set assists while adding 10 digs. Jamie Chun (Hilo, HI/Hilo) smashed her career-high in five-set digs, recording 30 to break her previous mark of 26, set earlier this season against Hartwick.
 
AU held a distinct advantage in the second set, up 22-16 before Brockport pushed back with an 8-2 run. AU's lone points in that Eagle run was from a Malone kill and a bad serve from Brockport. Facing a 24-23 lead with the potential of extra points needed, Malone put the set away with a kill off a pass from Santavy, picking up the first set win and tying the match, 1-1.
 
Brockport got out to an early 4-0 lead to start the fifth and deciding set. Santavy led a 4-2 scoring run with three kills (and one Brockport attack error) to bring them back within two, down 6-4. The momentum didn't stop there as AU tacked on four more points that saw an Anjoeline Armstrong (Simi Valley, CA/Bishop Alemany) service ace and a Malone kill, taking an 8-6 lead to switch court sides. Brockport responded by retaking the lead and building it to 10-8.
 
After another Brockport service error got the Saxons back within one, Malone had back-to-back kills followed by a kill from Krause to put them ahead, 12-10 and forced a Brockport timeout. The Golden Eagles clawed back to tie the set, 12-12. Krause scored the 13^th point for AU before another attack error forced Brockport to call its final timeout.
 
After the pause, Santavy smashed a pass from Sims to put the match away and pick up the 3-2, Empire 8, streak-ending victory. "Very proud of the way the girls played tonight," Assistant Coach Darian Ortiz '23 MBA '24 said. "They played together and never gave up. It was definitely fun to watch."
 
At the conclusion of Empire 8 play on Friday evening, the Saxons are joined by Hartwick College, Brockport, St. John Fisher University and Houghton University as teams that all sit at 6-2 in league action. The Saxons will next host SUNY Geneseo on Saturday, October 26 for a 1:00pm match start. It will be their second to last home match of the regular season before they host Nazareth University on Friday, November 1 at 6:00pm for both Senior Night and Saxon-for-Saxon.