CANTON, N.Y.—The William Smith volleyball team closed out the weekend with a dominant 3-0 sweep of St. Lawerence this afternoon. With the win, the Herons improved to 15-4 overall and 6-1 in the Liberty League, while the Saints fell to 12-10 on the season and 2-4 in conference play.
William Smith put on an impressive performance in the conference sweep. The Herons put down 43 kills (.261) as a team compared to St. Lawrence's 24 (.126). William Smith also held a 47-41 edge in digs and a 35-22 advantage in assists in the win. The Herons served up seven aces compared to the Saints' three and also held a 4-2 edge in blocks in the win.
First-year's Cassidy Breuer (.346) and Senya Dorny (.444) led William Smith with 11 kills each in the sweep. Breuer added 15 digs, three service aces and one block, while Dorny chipped in two digs, two blocks and one assist in the sweep. It was Breuer's sixth double-double of the season. Junior Emily Fulton recorded nine kills (.179), nine digs and one service ace in the win, while senior Maren Hunt chipped in seven kills (.333), and two blocks out of the middle.
Araiza Acum-Santos (.077) and Bridget Gammons (.438) led St. Lawrence with seven kills each in the loss. Acum Santos added four digs and one block, while Gammons chipped in one dig, one block and one assist for the Saints. Vanessa Latam tallied a team-high 16 assists in the loss.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- William Smith came out firing in the opening set, putting down 11 kills (.189) while holding St. Lawrence to a match-low six kills (.107). The Herons took an early lead and never looked back as it closed out set one on top 25-16 thanks to a Saints hitting error.
- The Herons continued to roll in set two, combining for a match-high 16 kills (.519) with a match-low two hitting errors in the set. St. Lawrence combined for eight kills (.111) but were matched by an efficient William Smith side. Dorny caught the hot hand in the second set, leading the Herons to a dominant 25-12 win in set two.
- William Smith closed out the sweep with a 16-kill (.170) performance in the final set. The Saints combined for a match-high 10 kills (.150) but two large scoring runs from the Herons would result in a 25-21 win in set three, securing the conference win for William Smith.
MATCH STATS:
- Breuer (.346) and Dorny (.444) led the Herons with 11 kills each in the sweep. Fulton chipped in nine kills (.179), while Hunt added seven (.333) out of the middle. Junior Arielle Newsome added four kills (.333) in the win.
- Junior setter Delainy Williams tallied a match-high 30 assists and added eight digs, two service aces, one block and one kill (.077) in the sweep.
- The Herons combined for 47 digs as a team and were led by Breuer with 15. Fulton chipped in nine, while Williams and junior libero Kali Vanderhoof added eight digs each in the win. Sophomore Madilyn Kresl, Dorny and Newsome chipped in two digs each in the win.
- William Smith served up seven aces in the sweep and was led by Breuer with three. Williams chipped in two, while Fulton and Newsome added one ace each on the afternoon.
- The Green and White combined for four total blocks and were led by Hunt, Newsome and Dorny with two each. Breuer and Williams chipped in one block each int the win.
COACHES CORNER:
"Today was an amazing win for our team!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "I thought we played with joy, discipline and efficiency. It was fun to see the team let it rip and we have another big week ahead!"
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action Wednesday, Oct. 28, when it concludes the Liberty League regular season with a conference matchup at RIT. Action between the Herons and the Tigers is set for 6 p.m.
