SCRANTON, Pa.—The William Smith volleyball team opened its season with an impressive 3-1 win over Scranton this afternoon to open the 2025 Scranton Tournament. With the four-set win, the Herons move to 1-0 on the season, while the Royals fall to 0-1 overall.

William Smith put on a convincing performance in the four-set win and led Scranton in several statistical categories. The Herons combined for 45 kills as a team, hitting a collective .119 hitting percentage and held the Royals to just 40 kills (.078). William Smith tallied six service aces compared to Scranton's three and added a 57-56 advantage in digs. The Royals held a 10-8 edge in blocks in the nonconference battle.
 
Senior outside Malya Sayre put on a dominant performance, tallying 22 kills (.211) and nine digs in the win. Sayre added four solo blocks and one service ace for the Herons. Classmates Marin Montagne and Hope Von Dohlen chipped in seven kills each and combined for 17 digs and four blocks.
 
Deanna Whelpley led the Royals with 12 kills (.043), eight digs and two blocks. Cammi Quirk tallied a team-leading 31 assists in the loss for Scranton.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• The Herons came out firing and jumped out to a 13-2 lead thanks to a strong service run by sophomore libero Kali Vanderhoof. William Smith combined for 10 kills (.095) as a team and forced Scranton to 12 hitting errors to take a dominating 25-16 win in set one.
• The Royals responded well and shot out to a 20-12 lead before the Herons came storming back with a 10-2 run to tie the set up at 22-22. William Smith used their momentum to close out the second set with a 25-23 win thanks to a big kill from Von Dohlen to double its lead.
• The two sides traded points until the 16-16 mark in the third set. A small run by the Royals grabbed the late momentum as Scranton closed out the must-win set on top 25-20 to force a fourth set.
• Set four was all William Smith as a 7-0 run would grab a 17-10 lead for the Herons. William Smith held Scranton to a -.028 hitting percentage and combined for nine kills as a team to close out the nonconference matchup on top with a 25-17 win in set four.

MATCH STATS:

• Sayre led the Herons with a match-high 22 kills (.211), while Montagne and Von Dohlen chipped in seven kills each. Senior Jaylynn McCarthy (.214), and sophomores Arielle Newsome (.100) and Delainy Williams (.214) added three kills each in the win.
• Sophomore setter Delainy Williams tallied a match-high 35 assists and added six digs, and two service aces for William Smith.
• The Herons combined for 57 digs as a team and were led by Vanderhoof with 17. Montagne added 13 digs, while Sayre chipped in nine in the win.
• William Smith tallied six service aces in the win and was led by Williams and first-year Lily Wittgraefe with two each. Senior Cydney Fernandez and Sayre added one ace each for the Herons.
• The Green and White combined for eight blocks at the net and were led by Sayre with four solo blocks. Von Dohlen and Newsome chipped in three each in the win.

COACHES CORNER:

"Nothing better than starting the season with a win!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "I'm really excited about our tenacity and ability to respond. We trailed by a lot in the second set and found a way to keep battling back to shift the momentum. Lots of things to improve upon but a great start to the year!"

UP NEXT:
 
William Smith will be back in action tomorrow to compete on Day 2 of the Scranton Tournament. The Herons will take on Mary Washington at 11 a.m., before closing out the action against Misericordia at 4 p.m.