ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The William Smith volleyball team closed out its regular season conference play with a dominant 3-0 sweep of RIT, officially clinching the second seed in the Liberty League Tournament. With the win, the Herons improved to 16-4 overall and 7-1 in the Liberty League, while the Tigers fell to 7-17 on the season with a 1-7 mark in conference play.
William Smith put on a dominant performance in the sweep. The Herons combined for 39 kills, hitting .289 as a team compared to RIT's 20 kills and .000 hitting percentage. William Smith held a 37-18 advantage in assists while the Tigers had a 32-20 edge in digs. The Herons combined for 12 aces and four blocks in the win, while RIT tallied five aces and zero blocks.
First-year Senya Dorny led William Smith with 10 kills on one error, hitting .529 in the sweep. Dorny also added a career-high five aces, three digs one block and one assist for the Herons. Junior Emily Fulton chipped in nine kills (.179), three digs, one block and one assist while senior Maren Hunt added six kills (.286) and one dig out of the middle. Junior Arielle Newsome (.273) and first-year Cassidy Breuer (.067) added five kills each in the win and combined for eight digs, five blocks and two service aces.
RIT was led by Layla Parker's seven kills (.095) and three digs. Isabel Leon tallied a team-high 16 assists and added three digs and two kills in the loss.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- William Smith came out hot in the opening set, putting down 11 kills (.304) while holding RIT to seven kills (-0.04). The Herons forced the Tigers into eight hitting errors in set one, securing a dominant 25-15 win to open the match.
- The Herons continued to roll in set two, putting down a match-high 18 kills (.200) compared to the Tigers' eight (.067). Despite a late push from RIT, William Smith used a big kill from Dorny to close out set two on top, 25-22.
- William Smith closed out the sweep with a dominant performance in the final set. The Herons combined for 10 kills (.529) and held the Tigers to a match-low five kills (-0.042). Dorny went on a strong run from the service line, racking up three aces as William Smith secured a 25-7 win over RIT in set three.
MATCH STATS:
- Dorny led the Herons with 10 kills (.529), while Fulton chipped in nine (.179) in the win. Hunt added six kills (.286) out of the middle, while Newsome (.273) and Breuer (.067) added five each in the sweep.
- Junior setter Delainy Williams tallied a match0high 30 assists in the win and added five digs, four service aces, four kills (.800) and one block.
- The Herons combined for 30 digs in the sweep and were led by junior libero Kali Vanderhoof with nine. Breuer chipped in seven digs, while Williams added five. Dorny and Fulton recorded three digs each for William Smith.
- William Smith served up 12 aces against RIT and was led by Dorny with a career-high five. Williams chipped in four, while Breuer added two. Vanderhoof tallied one ace in the win.
- The Green and White recorded four blocks in the sweep and were led by Newsome with four. Fulton, Williams, Dorny and Breuer added one block each for the Herons.
COACHES CORNER:
"Tonight was a really strong team win!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "I love the way we turned on the heat in the third set and played with nothing to lose. Two big matches coming up on Saturday we're ready for the challenge!"
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 14, when it travels to Cleveland, Ohio, for a tri-match. The Herons will take on the host Case Western at 11 a.m. before closing out the week's action with a matchup against No. 11 Calvin at 1 p.m.
