GETTYSBURG, Pa. –The William Smith volleyball team split action this afternoon at the Gettysburg Tri-Match, falling to the host Bullets 3-0 before sweeping York in the second match of the day. With the results, the Herons move to 7-1 on the season, while Gettysburg improves to 5-4 and the Spartans fall to 3-4 overall.
 
Senior Malya Sayre led William Smith through two matches, combining for 22 kills through six sets. She added 19 digs, including 13 against Gettysburg for her first double-double of the season, five service aces, two blocks and an assist on the afternoon.
 
Sophomore Emily Fulton chipped in 13 kills, seven service aces, four digs and one block, while senior Hope Von Dohlen added 11 kills, four blocks and two digs in the split. Sophomore Arielle Newsome recorded nine kills, including a season-high seven kills against Gettysburg, and eight blocks on the afternoon.
 
Sophomore setter Delainy Williams tallied 61 assists through six sets, and added seven digs, two kills and two blocks for William Smith. Sophomore libero Kali Vanderhoof led the Herons' defensive efforts with 28 digs on the afternoon. She added four service aces for William Smith.
  
MATCH MOMENTS:
 
Match 1 (Gettysburg):

• The Herons opened match one with a match-low 10 kills (.100), while the Bullets put down a match-high 15 kills (.195). The two sides traded the points in set one, forcing extra points, but Gettysburg used a big block and a Bradshaw kill to close out the opening set on top 26-24.
• William Smith responded well in the second set, putting down 14 kills (.211) compared to Gettysburg's 12 (.194). Like set one, the two sides traded the points throughout the entire set until back-to-back errors by the Herons handed the Bullets set two, 25-23.
• Gettysburg shot out to a 10-4 lead in set three and maintained the early momentum until the Herons clawed their way back into the set, eventually taking a 22-19 lead late in the must-win set. The Bullets responded with a 6-0 run to close out the sweep with a 25-22 win in set three.

Match stats:

• Sayre paced the Herons with 13 kills (.167) through three sets. Newsome (.263) and Fulton (.160) added seven kills each in the setback, while Von Dohlen chipped in four kills (.063) for William Smith.
• Williams tallied a match-high 32 assists against the Bullets. She added five digs, one block, one service ace and one kill (.250) in the loss.
• The Herons combined for 49 digs as a team and were led by Vanderhoof with 16 digs. Sayre added 13 for her first double-double of the season, while senior Marin Montagne added six for the Green and White.
• William Smith tallied 12 service aces as a team and were led by Fulton with four. Senior Cydney Fernandez chipped in three service aces, while Vanderhoof added two through three sets.

Match 2 (York):

• William Smith responded well in its second match of the day. The Herons opened set one with 12 kills (.200), while allowing the Spartans to just five kills and a -.125 hitting percentage. A big William Smith block and a Sayre service ace would close out set one with a 25-15 win for the Herons.
• The Herons continued to cruise in set two, putting down a match-high 13 kills (.526), while keeping York to just five kills (.200) again. William Smith served strong in the set, forcing the Spartans out of system often. Two Spartan errors handed the Herons a dominating 25-12 win in set two.
• William Smith closed out the sweep with another dominating performance as the Herons combined for 12 kills (.476) compared to the Spartans' seven (.143). After jumping out to an 11-3 lead, William Smith never looked back and closed out set three on top 25-12 to collect its seventh victory of the season.

Match stats:

• Sayre led the Herons for the second time of the day with nine kills (.167), while Von Dohlen chipped in seven (.455). Fulton added six kills (.500), while three different Herons followed with four kills each.
• Williams recorded a match-high 29 assists in the sweep. She added two digs, one service ace and a kill (.1000) through three sets.
• The Herons combined for 27 digs as a team and were led by Vanderhoof with 12. Sayre chipped in six, while Montagne added four digs in the win.
• William Smith continued to impress from the service line and tallied 15 aces as a team. The Herons were led by Sayre and Fernandez with four aces each, while Fulton chipped in three and Vanderhoof added two in the sweep.
• The Green and White combined for seven blocks as a team and were led by Newsome with four. Von Dohlen and junior Maren Hunt added two blocks each in the win.

COACHES CORNER:
 
"There's definitely lots of things we can learn from today which will help us throughout the season," said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "I am really happy with the team for continuing to battle against Gettysburg and know that there is opportunity for us to improve at a high level. We responded well against York and I'm excited to get back in the gym this week and improve."
 
UP NEXT:
 
William Smith will be back in action next weekend when it travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to play in the Carnegie Mellon Tournament. The Herons will take on Muhlenberg on Friday, Sept. 19, at 4 p.m., before taking on John Carroll and the host Tartans the next day at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. respectively.