GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith volleyball team extended its win streak to five-straight as it defeated Skidmore 3-1 this afternoon in its Breast Cancer Awareness game in Bristol Gym. With the win, the Herons improve to 18-2 on the season with a 5-0 record in conference play, while the Thoroughbreds fall to 9-9 overall and 2-3 in the Liberty League.
 
The conference battle saw William Smith put up impressive numbers. The Herons put down 54 kills as a team, hitting .371 in the win, while the Thoroughbreds combined for 43 kills and a .177 hitting percentage. William Smith held an 8-6 advantage in service aces as well as a 7-5 edge in blocks against Skidmore. The Herons combined for 51 digs as a team, while the Thoroughbreds tallied 45 in the loss.
 
Three Herons put down double-digit kills in the win and were led by senior outside Malya Sayre with 18 kills, hitting .293. Sayre added seven digs, three blocks and a service ace in the win. Senior Hope Von Dohlen added 13 kills on zero errors, hitting an impressive .722 through four sets. She added two digs and a block for William Smith. Sophomore Emily Fulton chipped in 11 kills (.250), eight digs and two assists in the four-set win.
 
Maya Stolarz led Skidmore with 11 kills (.360), three blocks and two digs, while Jazlin Chen chipped in eight kills (.278) and two blocks. Catriona Hoelperl tallied a team-high 34 assists in the loss.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• The opening set saw William Smith put down a match-high 16 kills (.452), while Skidmore combined for 12 kills (.182). After a competitive back-and-forth opening set, a Sayre kill and a Thoroughbred attack error handed the Herons a 25-19 win in set one.
• Skidmore fought back in set two, combining for a match-high 14 kills (.343), while William Smith also put down 14 kills (.179). Errors plagued the Herons as they racked up seven hitting errors, handing the Thoroughbreds a 25-19 win in set two.
• The Herons responded well in set three and combined for 13 kills (.444) with only one error. Sayre paced William Smith with four kills as the Herons closed out the third set on top 25-14.
• William Smith closed out the conference win with a dominant performance in set four. The Herons put down 11 kills, hitting .526 in the set. A big service run by Vanderhoof led the Herons to a dominant 25-11 win in set four.

MATCH STATS:

• Sayre paced the Herons with 18 kills (.293), while Von Dohlen chipped in 13 kills (.722). Fulton added 11 kills (.250), while sophomore Arielle Newsome (.333) and senior Jaylynn McCarthy (.444) added four kills each out of the middle.
• Sophomore setter Delainy Williams tallied a match-high 40 assists in the win. She added six digs, three kills (.286), two blocks and one ace for the Herons.
• William Smith combined for 51 digs in the win and were led by sophomore libero Kali Vanderhoof with 19. Fulton chipped in eight digs, while Sayre chipped in seven. Williams and senior Marin Montagne added six digs each in the win.
• The Herons tallied eight aces in the conference victory and were led by Vanderhoof with four. Senior Cydney Fernandez added two aces, while Sayre and Williams chipped in one ace each.
• The Green and White impressed at the net and combined for seven blocks against the Thoroughbreds. Newsome led the way with five blocks, while Sayre chipped in three. Williams tallied two blocks in the four-set win.

COACHES CORNER:

"I was really happy with our response after the second set from our team!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "We focused back in on some of our discipline, and it showed. Hope was unstoppable today and showcased huge range as an attacker. I'm super excited for this group to get back to training this week as we prepare for Ithaca and William Paterson next Saturday!"

UP NEXT:
 
William Smith will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 15, when it travels to Ithaca, New York, for a tri-match. The Herons will open up action with a Liberty League showdown against No. 16 Ithaca at 11:30 a.m., before taking on William Patterson at 2 p.m. in Ben Light Gymnasium.