SELINSGROVE, Pa.—The William Smith volleyball team put on a dominant performance this afternoon to earn a 3-0 sweep of Stevenson to open up action at the 19th annual River Hawk Classic hosted by Susquehanna University. With the win, the Herons move to 21-3 on the season, while the Mustangs fall to 13-14 overall.  

William Smith put on an impressive performance in the sweep and led Stevenson in several statistical categories. The Herons combined for 47 kills as a team, hitting a collective .362 hitting percentage and held the Mustangs to just 19 kills (.045). William Smith tallied seven service aces compared to Stevenson's five and held a 45-25 advantage in digs. The Mustangs held a 9-6 edge in blocks against the Herons.

Junior Malya Sayre paced the Herons with 16 kills through three sets, hitting a .243 clip. She added six digs, two assists and one service ace in the win. Classmate Marin Montagne added nine kills on zero errors, hitting .500 in the sweep. She also added nine digs and one block for William Smith. Junior Jaylynn McCarthy chipped in eight kills (.500) and three blocks out of the middle for the Herons.

Zakara Masibo led the Mustangs in the loss with five kills (.143) and two blocks. Makala Thompson tallied 10 assists in the loss for Stevenson.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• The Herons came out firing in the opening set and put on a dominant performance after grabbing the early lead. William Smith put down 17 kills in the opening set, combining for an impressive .484 hitting percentage while holding the Mustangs to just six kills (.034). Sayre led the team with five kills (.364) to help the Herons to a dominating 25-12 win to open the match.
• William Smith continued to roll in the second set as the Herons put down 15 kills (.265) as a team compared Stevenson's six (.032). The Mustangs had no response to a strong Heron attack which resulted in a 25-16 William Smith win in set two.
• The Herons maintained the momentum in the third set and combined for 15 kills (.345) as a team. William Smith also showed strong from the service line in the third, combining for four service aces to close out the sweep with a dominating 25-14 win in set three.

MATCH STATS:

• Sayre led the Herons with 16 kills (.243) and was followed by Montagne with nine (.500). McCarthy added eight kills (.500) out of the middle while junior Hope Von Dohlen (.417) and first-year Arielle Newsome (.333) chipped in six kills each in the win.
• First-year setter Delainy Williams had a stellar performance for William Smith and tallied a match-high 40 assists. She added three blocks, two digs, two kills (.333) and a service ace in the sweep.
• The Herons combined for 45 digs as a team and were led by first-year libero Kali Vanderhoof with 13. Montagne chipped in nine while Von Dohlen added a season-high seven digs. Sayre and junior defensive specialist Cydney Fernandez recorded six digs each in the win.
• William Smith tallied seven service aces in the win and was led by Fernandez with four. Sayre, Vanderhoof and Williams recorded one ace each for the Herons.

COACHES CORNER:

"We were firing on all cylinders today!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "Our team came prepared, excited, and flat out played to win tonight. Two more big matches tomorrow so I'm excited to get back on the court and see us compete more!".

UP NEXT:
 
William Smith will be back in action tomorrow to close out its regular season with two nonconference matches. The Herons will take on Rochester at noon before closing out action against Susquehanna at 4 p.m.