ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team split a pair of non-conference matches on Saturday at the SUNY Morrisville Tournament, defeating SUNY Poly and falling to Alfred State College.
The Saxons (2-2, 0-0 Empire 8) started the day with a three-set win over Poly, winning 25-18, 25-11 and 25-21. They then dropped a four-set loss to Alfred State College, 11-25, 19-25, 25-20, 23-25. "We're off to a fantastic start to the season! This tournament was a real challenge, and we definitely experienced some growing pains as we introduced two new setters," Head Coach
Mike Honeycutt said. "But with them leading our offense, the future looks promising. True success is all about playing as a team, not just individually."
Match One
Alfred University – 3 (25, 25, 25) | SUNY Poly – 0 (18, 11, 21)
Three Saxons were in double-digit scoring with double-digit kills. All three of them also hit over .475.
Julia Abbott (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) recorded 11 kills on 19 attacks with only one error (.526) and added one block assist for a total of 11.5 points to lead the Saxons.
Carleigh Santavy (Commerce, MI/Walled Lake Northern) also had 11 kills for a total of 11.0 points, hitting 21 attacks with one error (.476).
Abigail Omelan (Tomball, TX/Tomball Memorial) recorded 10.0 points on 10 kills with two errors on 15 attacks (.533). Santavy added six digs.
Madalynn McGowan (Corona, CA/Norco) totaled a match-high 14 digs.
Gillian Dickerson (Frisco, TX/Wakeland) and
Meeghan Peterson (Amherst, NY/Williamsville South) each had 15 set assists while McGowan chipped in seven.
The match-clinching set saw a 17-13 Saxon lead until the Wildcats went on a 6-1 run to take a 19-18 lead. Each team exchanged shots until it was tied, 21-21. A teamed block from
Cara Bratthauar (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg Area) and
Whitney Kilton (Pearl City, HI/Pearl City) and then three Poly attack errors ruined any further momentum to push the match to a fourth set.
Match Two
Alfred University – 1 (11, 19, 25, 23) | Alfred State College – 3 (25, 25, 20, 25)
The Saxons were led by Santavy with 13.5 points off of 10 kills, two aces and three block assists. She added seven digs to her stat line. McGowan had her second match in a row with double-digit digs, setting her season-high at 16 (following her 14 digs against Poly).
Peterson had another 15 set assists while Dickerson supplemented with 10.
Late in the third set, down by one point, 18-17, the Saxons scored five unanswered points, highlighted by three McGowan aces and a kill from Santavy and Omelan. With the 22-18 lead, A-State responded with a 2-1 run to make it a 23-20 set. A bad serve from a Pioneer put the Saxons up 24-20. The fourth set was needed after a kill from Abbott to close out the set.
The fourth set started with some back-and-forth offense from each team, resulting in a 6-6 tie.
Shelby Baker (Geneseo, NY/Geneseo Central) highlighted a Saxon 5-0 run with three service aces to take an 11-6 AU lead. Both Alfred teams would fight to establish a reasonable lead, but it ultimately led to a 23-23 nail-biter. The Pioneers closed out the match with back-to-back aces.
The Saxons next turn their sights towards another two-day, four-match weekend as they travel to University of Rochester on Friday, September 11 for a 2:00pm match with the hosts and a 4:00pm match with Penn College. They then end the weekend on Saturday, September 12 with a 1:00pm match against Lewis & Clark College and a 3:00pm facing of Smith College.
-- Swords Forward Saxons --
