ALBANY, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team ended the weekend with a 3-1 road loss to Russell Sage College on Saturday.
 
The Saxons (12-13, 4-3 Empire 8) lost the first two sets to the Gators (9-10, 4-3 Empire 8), 30-28, 25-17. AUVB battled back to win the third by a score of 25-14. Unfortunately, Russell Sage College took the fourth, 27-25, to close out the match.
 
Carleigh Santavy (Commerce, MI/Walled Lake Northern) posted her fourth career 20+ point game, earning a career-high 23.0 points. She matched her career high of 19 kills and recorded a career-high four block assists. Taylor Malone (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) became the second Saxon this weekend to hit a milestone by reaching 1,000 career points. She is the fourth player in program history to achieve this. Malone finished with 14.5 points from 12 kills, two blocks, and one service ace. She also added nine digs to her stat line. Cara Bratthauar (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg, Area) had back-to-back double-figure games. She tallied a career-high 13.5 points on a career-high 11 kills and five block assists.
 
A day after earning her 2,000^th career assist, Delaney Sims (Bogart, GA/George Walton Academy) once again recorded 40 assists. This marks the 12th time she has done it in her career. She also tied with Malone in digs with nine.
 
Madalynn McGowan (Corona, CA/Norco) tallied a career-high 18 digs and added five assists.
 
The Saxons battled in a deep marathon first set that went into extra points before losing, 30-28.
 
AUVB started out with a strong lead in the second, 10-6. But Russell Sage College went on a 9-4 run to take the lead. Both teams traded service errors that tied the game at 16-all. The Gators outscored the Saxons, 9-1, to win the set, 25-17.  
 
AUVB found their rhythm in the third, cruising to a decisive 25-14 victory. The Saxons had a .455 hitting percentage compared to the Gators' -.042. Seven of those points came from Santavy, who had four kills, two service aces, and one block assist.
 
The momentum continued into the critical fourth set, which once again proved to be a nail-biter, featuring 15 ties and 14 lead changes. Despite the competitive back-and-forth, Russell Sage College edged out AUVB, 27-25, to seal the match.
 
The Saxons return to Terry S. Galanis Arena to host SUNY Brockport on Friday, Oct. 24 at 6:00 PM.