PITTSBURGH, Pa. –The William Smith volleyball team cruised to back-to-back sweeps over John Carroll and No. 22 Carnegie Mellon this afternoon to close out the 2025 Carnegie Mellon Tournament. The win against the host Tartans was the first ranked win in William Smith volleyball history. With the wins, the Herons improve to 10-1 on the season, while the Blue Streaks fall to 7-6 and the Tartans fall to 10-4 overall.
 
Sophomore Emily Fulton led William Smith through two matches with 29 kills, hitting an impressive .324 through six sets. She added 18 digs, three service aces and one block in the sweeps. Fulton averaged 4.83 kills per set and 5.42 points per set on the afternoon. Senior Malya Sayre added 28 kills (.242), 21 digs, four blocks and two aces on Day 2 of the CMU Tournament. She recorded back-to-back double-doubles, while averaging 4.67 kills per set and 5.33 points per set.
 
Senior Hope Von Dohlen chipped in 18 kills (.353), eight blocks, four digs and two assists in the wins, while sophomore Arielle Newsome added 14 kills (.464) and eight blocks out of the middle for William Smith. Sophomore libero Kali Vanderhoof led the defensive efforts and tallied 18 digs, 10 assists and two service aces on the afternoon.
 
Sophomore setter Delainy Williams had back-to-back standout performances for the Herons and combined for 78 assists, 16 digs, three service aces, two blocks and two kills (.333) through two matches. She averaged 13.00 assists per set on the afternoon to lead William Smith to back-to-back victories.
  
MATCH MOMENTS:
 
Match 1 (John Carroll):

• The Herons continued to impress offensively in their second match of the CMU tournament. William Smith put down 16 kills (.308) in the opening set, while John Carroll tallied a match-low seven (0.0). After falling behind early, the Herons responded well and stormed back to take the lead mid set. William Smith closed out set one on top 25-19.
• William Smith came out firing in the second set and put down a match-high 18 kills (.302) compared to the Blue Streaks' 11 (.211). The two sides traded the early points until the Herons grabbed the momentum and went on a 5-0 run to grab a 21-17 lead. William Smith never looked back and closed out set two on top 25-22.
• The Herons continued to roll in set three, combining for 14 kills (.143) compared to John Carroll's eight (.143). Like set one, the Blue Streak's grabbed the early lead until William Smith started to claw its way back into the match. The Herons put up a big block and found their groove offensively to close out the sweep with a 25-19 win in set three.

Match stats:

• Fulton paced the Herons with a season-high 16 kills, hitting .333 through three sets. Sayre chipped in 11 kills (.088), while Von Dohlen added a season-high 10 kills (.333) in the win. Newsome recorded seven kills (.400) out of the middle for William Smith.
• Williams tallied a season-high 40 assists in the sweep. She added nine digs, three service aces and a kill (.200) in the win.
• The Herons combined for 58 digs as a team and were led by Vanderhoof with 15. Sayre and Fulton chipped in 11 digs each to secure double-doubles in the win. Williams added nine digs, while senior Marin Montagne added seven for William Smith.
• William Smith continued to impress from the service line and combined for nine aces as a team. Williams led the way with three, while Vanderhoof added two in the win. Senior Cydney Fernandez, Fulton, Sayre and Montagne chipped in one service ace each.
• The Green and White stayed strong at the net and combined for seven blocks as a team. Senior Jaylynn McCarthy and Von Dohlen led the way with four blocks each, while Newsome chipped in three and Sayre added two.

Match 2 (Carnegie Mellon):

• William Smith and Carnegie Mellon both came out firing in the opening set, trying to set the tone early. The Herons put down a match-high 19 kills (.368), while the Tartans matched with a match-high 19 kills (.405) of their own. The two sides traded the late points until a Fulton kill and a block from Von Dohlen and McCarthy handed the Herons a 29-27 win in set one.
• The Herons continued on its late momentum into set two and combined for 13 kills (.321) as a team, while holding the Tartans to just nine kills (.071) in the second set. Carnegie Mellon racked up seven hitting errors in the second set as it handed William Smith a 25-20 win in set two.
• William Smith closed out the sweep with a dominant performance in the third set as the Herons combined for 17 kills (.469) and held the Tartans to nine kills (.097). A big Heron block followed by a Sayre kill would close out the third set on top 25-18, earning William Smith its first ranked win in program history.

Match stats:

• Sayre led the Herons with a match-high 17 kills, hitting an impressive .406 clip through three sets. Fulton added 13 kills (.310), while Von Dohlen chipped in eight (.375). Newsome tallied seven kills (.538) out of the middle in the sweep.
• Williams had another standout performance from the setter position, tallying a match-high 38 assists. She added seven digs, two blocks and one kill (1.000) in the win.
• The Herons combined for 35 digs as a team and were led by Sayre with 10 for her second double-double of the day and third of the season. Fulton and Williams chipped in seven digs, while Montage added six.
• William Smith held a 4-3 advantage in service aces against Carnegie Mellon and was led by Fulton with two. Fernandez and Sayre chipped in one ace each for the Herons.
• The Green and White continued to impress at the net and tallied 10 blocks as a team. McCarthy and Newsome led the way with five each, while Von Dohlen added four. Sayre and Williams chipped in two blocks each in the win.

COACHES CORNER:
 
"Today was a huge step for our program with our first win over a ranked opponent!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "We had a great week of practice which allowed us to play at a level that we know we can and were able to sustain it throughout the match. Our bench energy and consistent mental recovery was nothing shy of impressive! It's hard to pick out any individual performance because everyone performed at a high level. To hit .388 against a top team and .469 in the third set shows what we are capable of and I can't wait for our team to get back in the gym this week!"
 
UP NEXT:
 
William Smith will be back in action next weekend as it opens Liberty League play in Bristol Gymnasium. The Herons will host Clarkson on Friday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m., and St. Lawrence the following day at 2 p.m. to begin conference play.