GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College volleyball team bounced back and defeated Bard 3-0 tonight in Bristol Gym. The Herons now sit at 13-5, with a 4-2 record in the Liberty League after the sweep of the Raptors. With their fourth Liberty League win of the season, the Herons clinched a playoff berth in their first season in program history.
Leading the way for the Herons was first-year
Malya Sayre with 12 kills on 25 swings, hitting .400 on the night.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- The Herons came out firing, hitting .524 as a team and keeping the Raptors to a .000 hitting percentage in the first set. Sophomore Elaina Wamhoff and first-year Paige Madison combined for seven service aces to deliver the win in set one to the Herons, 25-8.
- William Smith continued to put up impressive numbers in set two, hitting .485 as a team. First-year Malya Sayre recorded four of her 12 kills in set two, helping the Herons to a 25-12 set two victory.
- The Raptors showed a spark to start set three, but the Herons would respond with a strong defensive performance. The William Smith defense kept Bard to a .130 hitting percentage on the set and closed out the sweep with a 25-17 set three victory.
MATCH STATS:
- Sayre led the Herons with 12 kills (.400), followed by first-year Jaylynn McCarthy (.778) and senior Lauren DeVaney (.538) both with seven.
- Wamhoff recorded 35 assists, 8 digs, 5 kills (.571), and six service aces on the night
- First-year Marin Montagne, Wamhoff and McCarthy led the Herons with 8 digs each against the Raptors.
- Sophomore Elizaveta Telepova and DeVaney recorded two blocks each.
COACHES CORNER:
"We picked up right where we left off on Tuesday," Head coach
Derryk Williams said. "Our serving was really strong, and our hitters went off. It was a great overall team performance heading into another conference opponent in Union tomorrow."
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action on Saturday, when they take on Union in Bristol Gym. The Liberty League matchup is set to begin at 2 p.m.
