GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith volleyball team put on a dominant performance as the Herons earned a conference sweep over Vassar this evening, extending its win streak to 10 straight. With the win, William Smith moves to 13-2 overall and 3-0 in conference play, while the Brewers fall to 2-11 overall with a 0-2 mark in the Liberty League.

The Herons continued to impress against the Brewers, combining for 47 kills as a team on a collective .400 hitting percentage. William Smith held Vassar to 28 kills as a team and a .221 hitting percentage. The Herons racked up 10 service aces as a team and allowed the Brewers to just six. William Smith also tallied 37 digs as a team, while Vassar recorded only 23.

Junior Marin Montagne led the Herons with 14 kills, hitting an impressive .542 clip. She added seven digs and one service ace in the win. Classmate Malya Sayre followed closely behind with 12 kills, hitting .400 through three sets. Sayre added seven digs and two service aces for the Herons. Junior's Jaylynn McCarthy (.313) and Hope Von Dohlen (.500) chipped in nine and seven kills, respectively.

Maura McAusland led the Brewers with eight kills (.227), five digs and one service ace. Francesca Medrano tallied 14 assists in the loss for Vassar.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• The Herons came out hot in the opening set, combining for 16 kills (.467) as a team. William Smith held Vassar to a match-low six kills (.077). Montagne caught the hot hand in set one, putting down six kills on 10 swings to lead the Herons to a convincing 25-13 win.
• The Brewers fought back in the second set, combining for a match-high 13 kills (.286) but were matched by an efficient Heron side that put down a match-high 17 kills (.387). After a back-and-forth beginning to the set that saw seven tie scores, William Smith pushed to take the late lead and secure a 25-21 win to extend its lead to 2-0.
• William Smith continued on its momentum into the third set, putting down 14 kills (.345) as a team and keeping Vassar to just nine (.304). The Herons grabbed the early lead and never looked back, closing the sweep out with a 25-16 win in set three.

MATCH STATS:

• Montagne paced the Herons with 14 kills (.542) and was followed by Sayre with 12 (.400). McCarthy chipped in nine (.313), while Von Dohlen added seven kills (.500) in the win.
• First-year setter Delainy Williams continued to shine for William Smith, tallying 37 assists in the win. She added two digs and two service aces in the sweep.
• William Smith combined for 37 digs as a team and were led by first-year libero Kali Vanderhoof with 12. Junior defensive specialist Cydney Fernandez, as well as Sayre and Montagne recorded seven digs each in the win.
• The Herons continued to impress from the service line, combining for 10 aces as a team. Vanderhoof led the team with three, while Sayre and Williams chipped in two each.
• William Smith tallied three blocks in the win and were led by first-year Arielle Newsome and Von Dohlen tallied two each while McCarthy and Williams each recorded one.

COACHES CORNER:

"Tonight was a great performance from our team!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "Hitting .400 as a team in a match showcases the range we have within our attack, and I am really happy with the way we played in all aspects of our game. For us to win our 10th match in a row is a great feeling and this team is definitely hungry for more so I am excited to see how we continue to prepare for tomorrow and the rest of the conference."

UP NEXT:
 
William Smith will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when it hosts Bard (4-14, 0-2) in a Liberty League matchup. Action between the Herons and the Raptors is set for 2 p.m. in Bristol Gymnasium.