ALLIANCE, OH – The Alfred University women's volleyball team began the 2025 season at the Mount Union Invitational, battling hard but coming up short to the University of Mount Union and Denison University on day one.

The Saxons (0-2, 0-0 Empire 8) dropped their contest to the Purple Raiders (1-0, 0-0 OAC), with set scores of 22-25, 23-25 and 14-25. They lost to the Big Red (1-0, 0-0 NCAC) by scores of 12-25, 17-25 and 20-25.

"We had some great moments," Head Coach Mike Honeycutt said. "First-year Julia (Abbott) played excellently in her first two matches. And first-year Meeghan (Peterson) served phenomenally. While we didn't win, we showed flashes of strength and confidence.

Match One
Alfred University – 0 | University of Mount Union 3

Leading the way for the Saxons was Carleigh Santavy (Commerce, MI/Walled Lake Northern), who tallied 14.0 points while matching her career-high 14 kills and adding a career-high nine digs to her stat line.

Julia Abbott (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) made a strong collegiate debut with 9.0 points from nine kills along with one dig.

Delaney Sims (Bogart, GA/George Walton Academy) registered 30 assists to surpass Janelle Gallipeau '13 for third on the program's all-time list in career assists. She also notched 13 digs and four kills.

Taylor Malone (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) registered a career-high 14 digs, five kills, two assists and one block assist.

Match Two
Alfred University – 0 | Denison University – 3

Malone led all scorers with 7.0 points on five kills, one ace and one solo block. She narrowly surpassed Heather D'Andrea '17 for sixth on the all-time list for career kills.

Sims and Madalynn McGowan (Corona, CA/Norco) registered 10 digs each. Sims added 17 assists to record her first double-double of the season.  

Abbott, Santavy and Meeghan Peterson (Amherst, NY/Williamsville South) had five points apiece. Peterson, appearing in her first collegiate match, led the Saxons with a team-high five aces.

The Alfred University women's volleyball team plays day two of the invitational on Saturday against Marietta College at 10:00 AM and DePauw University at 12:00 PM.