ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The William Smith volleyball team put on a dominant performance as it cruised to a 3-0 sweep of Nazareth this afternoon in a non-conference matchup in Kidera Gymnasium. With the win, the Herons improve to 17-2 overall, while the Golden Flyers fall to 0-19 on the season.
 
William Smith put on an impressive performance against Nazareth to build on its best start to a season in program history. The Herons combined for 48 kills as a team, hitting .327 in the sweep, while the Golden Flyers put down 20 kills (.043). William Smith held a 54-38 advantage in digs and a 44-19 edge in assists. Nazareth served up five aces compared to the Herons' four, while both teams tallied four blocks in the non-conference matchup.
 
Senior outside Malya Sayre led William Smith with 14 kills, hitting .321 in the win. She added a season-high 16 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Sayre also recorded two assists and one service ace in the sweep. Sophomore Emily Fulton chipped in nine kills on zero errors, hitting an impressive .450 in the sweep. She added eight digs, one block and one ace in two sets of action. Senior Hope Von Dohlen added eight kills (.211), two blocks and a dig in the sweep.
 
Senior Jaylynn McCarthy recorded five kills (.364) out of the middle, while sophomore Arielle Newsome (.143) and senior Marin Montagne (.444) added four kills each in the win. McCarthy and Newsome combined for four blocks, while Montagne chipped in eight digs to lead the Herons to victory.
 
Leah Fusilli led the Golden Flyers with 10 kills (.100) and added seven digs, and one service ace in the loss. Madeline Saunders tallied a team-high eight assists for Nazareth.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• William Smith came out firing in the opening set, putting down a match-high 19 kills (.341) while holding Nazareth to just eight kills (.167). The Herons scored the last three points of the set to grab the early lead with a 25-16 win in set one.
• The Herons continued on their momentum into the second set and put down 14 kills (.344), while holding the Golden Flyers to a match-low four kills (-.133). William Smith forced Nazareth out of system often as the Golden Flyers tallied eight hitting errors, handing the Herons a dominating 25-11 win in set two.
• William Smith closed out the sweep with another impressive performance, combining for 15 kills (.290) and keeping Nazareth to eight kills (.077). Back-to-back errors from the Golden Flyers would hand the Herons a 25-18 win in set three to close out the nonconference matchup in a sweep.

MATCH STATS:

• Sayre paced the Herons with 14 kills (.321), while Fulton chipped in nine (.450) in the sweep. Von Dohlen added eight kills (.211), while McCarthy tallied five (.364) in the win. Montagne (.444) and Newsome (.143) put down four kills each against the Golden Flyers, while junior Maren Hunt added two kills (.333) in the win.
• Sophomore setter Delainy Williams recorded a match-high 29 assists through two sets. She added four digs, one service ace and a kill (1.000) in the win. First-year Madilyn Kresl tallied a career-high 12 assists in one set and added two digs, one block and a kill (.500) for the Herons.
• William Smith combined for 54 digs as a team and were led by Sayre with a season-high 16. Sophomore libero Kali Vanderhoof added 13 digs, while Fulton and Montagne chipped in eight each in the win.
• Sayre, Vanderhoof, Fulton and Williams all tallied one service ace each in the sweep.
• The Green and White combined for four blocks in the win and were led by Newsome with three blocks. Von Dohlen chipped in two, while McCarthy, Kresl and Fulton added one block each.

COACHES CORNER:

"Really happy to take another match in 3 tonight!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "Maddie did a great job running the offense in the second set and there were lots of contributions from the whole group. Excited to have Skidmore at home this Saturday for another conference matchup."

UP NEXT:
 
William Smith will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 18, when it welcomes Skidmore (9-8, 2-2 LL) to Geneva for a Liberty League contest. First serve between the Herons and the Thoroughbreds is set for 2 p.m. in Bristol Gym.