GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College volleyball team fell in a heartbreaking five-set thriller to Union in the first round of the Liberty League Championships. The Herons fall to 16-6 on the season as the Dutchwomen improve to 13-13.
 
Leading the way for the Herons was first-year Malya Sayre with a career-high 21 kills, hitting .159 on the night. Sayre recorded a double-double (21 kills, 14 digs) in the five-set match.
 
MATCH MOMENTS:

• Union came out strong in set one taking an early lead the Herons could not recover from. Union took the first set 25-20.
• The Herons came out firing in set two, hitting .154 as a team and holding the Dutchwomen to a -.108 hitting percentage. Sayre recorded four kills in set two to lead the Herons to a 25-15 victory.
• The Dutchwomen went on a 5-0 run to start the third set and kept the Herons to a -.049 hitting percentage in the set. Sophomore Ariana Angus' strong service run late in the set would gain momentum for the Herons, but William Smith would unfortunately fall short, 25-20.
• Set four would not disappoint as the back-and-forth battle would have four lead changes and 14 tie scores between the Herons and the Dutchwomen. In the must-win set for the Herons, first-year Marin Montagne recorded three big kills to lift the Herons to a 25-23 victory to tie the game at two.
• Union started out hot in set five with a 6-1 lead over the Herons. William Smith would respond to tie the set at 10-10. The back-and-forth battle would force the set to extra points, with the Dutchwomen eventually taking the final set 17-15, and the match 3-2.

MATCH STATS:

• Sayre led the Herons with 21 kills (.159), followed by sophomore Elizaveta Telepova with 10 (.217). First-years Hope Von Dohlen (.105) and Jaylynn McCarthy (.105) both recorded seven kills each.
• Sophomore Elaina Wamhoff recorded 46 assists, seven digs and three kills (.167).
• First-year Paige Madison recorded a career-high 17 digs on the night, followed by Sayre with 14, and Cydney Fernandez with 13.
• Senior Lauren DeVaney and Telepova led the Herons with five blocks each, followed by McCarthy with four.

 
COACHES CORNER:
 
"Although this obviously wasn't the ending we hoped for, we have to recognize the amazing accomplishments this team had," Head coach Derryk Williams said. "To win 16 matches as a brand-new program is nothing shy of remarkable. It was an absolute honor to coach this team and I can't wait for the future of this program!"