CHICAGO, Ill.—After falling in the first two sets, the William Smith volleyball team flipped a switch to take down Mount St. Joseph in five sets on day two of the Gargoyle Classic. With the reverse sweep win, the Herons move to 4-2 on the season, while the Lions, who were receiving votes in this week's AVCA national poll fall to 1-4.

William Smith put together a strong performance against a tough Mount St. Joseph team. The Herons combined for 54 kills as a team compared to the Lions' 46. William Smith hit .233 as a team and held Mount St. Joseph to a .162 hitting percentage.

Junior Malya Sayre led the Herons with a career-high 24 kills through five sets, hitting .242. She added nine digs, and one block to help propel William Smith to one of its biggest wins in program history. Classmate Hope Von Dohlen chipped in 14 kills (.333) in the win and added five blocks and three digs for the Herons. Marin Montagne put on an impressive performance from the pin, tallying 13 kills (.186), 12 digs, three aces and two blocks in the win.

Emma Sicking led the Lions with 13 kills (.290) and three digs through five sets. Jasmine Butler tallied 40 assists for Mount St. Joseph and added 12 digs and five kills in the loss.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• The Herons had a slow start in the opening set, putting down eight kills (.133) as a team compared to the Lions' 11 (.308). Mount St. Joseph used its disciplined defense to run an efficient offense which led to a 25-16 win in the opening set. 
• William Smith fought back in the second set, putting down 11 kills compared to Mount St. Joseph's nine. The Herons saw a late lead diminish as the Lions slipped away with a 25-23 win to move to 2-0 on the match.
• The Herons responded with a strong offensive showing, firing off a match-high 17 kills (.333) in the must-win set. William Smith played scrappy defense and kept the Lions to just 10 kills (.122) to force a fourth set between the two sides.
• William Smith continued on its momentum into the fourth set, putting down 14 kills (.344) as a team. The errors along with a strong block by the Herons plagued Mount St. Joseph in the fourth. The Herons used the momentum shift to close out the fourth with a 25-20 win to force their first fifth set of the season.
• Both sides put on an efficient performance in the final set as the Herons put down 10 kills (.474) on one error and the Lions put down seven kills (.500) on zero errors. A strong service run by Montagne to open the set put William Smith out to a lead the Lions couldn't recover from. The Herons took the final set 15-12 to earn their first victory over an opponent in the national poll in program history.

MATCH STATS:

• Sayre led the Herons with a career-high 24 kills (.242), followed by Von Dohlen (.333) with 14. Montagne chipped in 13 kills (.186) in the five-set win.
• First-year setter put on an impressive performance against the Lions, tallying a career-high 54 assists in the win. She added 10 digs for third double-double of the season. Williams also tallied a career-high four service aces in the win.
• First-year libero Kali Vanderhoof led a scrappy Heron defense and tallied a career-high 24 digs in the win. Montagne and junior Cydney Fernandez chipped in 12 digs each in the win. Montagne's 12 digs and 13 kills was her second double-double of the season.
• William Smith dominated at the net and combined for eight blocks to Mount St. Joseph's zero. First-year middle blocker Arielle Newsome recorded a career-high eight blocks and was followed by Von Dohlen with five.

COACHES CORNER:

"Today was a huge win for our program!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "Not only for it being over a great team, but more importantly, how we did it! We went down 0-2 and found a way to claw back and prevail. We showed tenacity, grit, and really trusted one another to win that match. So proud of this group and can't wait to get back into the gym to take the next steps!"

UP NEXT:
 
William Smith will be back in action Saturday, Sept. 14, when it hosts the 2024 Heron Tri-Match that includes Gettysburg and St. John Fisher. The Herons will take on the Bullets at 11 a.m. and will conclude action against the Cardinals at 5 p.m. in Bristol Gymnasium.