POTSDAM, N.Y.—First-year Cassidy Breuer put down 12 kills (.205) as the William Smith volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 sweep of Clarkson this afternoon in a Liberty League matchup in Alumni Gymnasium. With the win, the Herons improved to 11-2 overall and 3-0 in conference play, while the Golden Knights fell to 12-3 overall and 2-1 in the Liberty League.
William Smith put on a dominant performance in the conference win, combining for 39 kills (.198) as a team compared to Clarkson's 34 (.138). The Herons held a 37-33 edge in assists, a 55-50 advantage in digs and a 7-2 edge in service aces. Both William Smith and Clarkson combined for three blocks each on the afternoon.
Breuer led the Herons with 12 kills (.205) and 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. She added two service aces and one block in the win as well. Senior Maren Hunt continued to impress out of the middle, putting down nine kills (.353) and adding two digs. Junior Emily Fulton chipped in eight kills (.200), 13 digs two blocks and two service aces in the win. Defensively, William Smith was led by junior libero Kali Vanderhoof's 16 digs.
Clarkson was led by Ainslie Reimer's 11 kills (.346), and eight digs. Conley Burns added eight kills (.033), three digs and one block, while Brianna Hale tallied a team-leading 25 assists in the loss.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- William Smith opened the conference battle on top, recording 12 kills (.219) as a team while holding Clarkson to a match-low eight kills (.029). The Golden Knights racked up seven hitting errors, handing the Herons a dominant 25-17 win in set one.
- Clarkson responded with a match-high 14 kills (.275) in set two but was matched by a strong William Smith side that tallied 15 kills (.268) in the second set. A kill from Breuer and a bad set by Amelia Bartfalvi would close out set two in favor of the Herons, 25-20.
- The Herons closed out the sweep with a 12 kill (.116) performance in the third set. The Golden Knights also combined for 12 kills (.102) but couldn't keep up with the efficient William Smith offense. Despite a late push from Clarkson, the Herons would close out the match with a 25-22 win in set three.
MATCH STATS:
- Breuer led the Herons with 12 kills (.205), while Hunt chipped in nine kills (.353) in the sweep. Fulton added eight kills (.200), while junior Arielle Newsome put down seven kills (.636) on zero errors out of the middle. First-year Taylor Williams chipped in three kills (.125) on the right side.
- Junior setter Delainy Williams tallied a match-high 35 assists in the win. Williams also added five digs in the sweep.
- The Herons combined for 55 digs as a team and were led by Vanderhoof with 16. Fulton added 13 digs, while Breuer chipped in 10. Williams recorded five digs in the win while Newsome and Williams chipped in three digs each.
- William Smith served up seven aces as a team and was led by Fulton, Breuer and Newsome with two each. Williams added one ace in the sweep.
- The Green and White combined for three total blocks in the win and were led by Newsome with three. Fulton added two blocks while Breuer chipped in one.
COACHES CORNER:
"I am really happy with the way our team played today!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "We introduced some new focuses two days ago and executed them phenomenally. This group is continuing to embrace challenges, and we are having a ton of fun along the way! Much deserved off day tomorrow and then right back at it on Wednesday with a strong Fisher team.
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action Wednesday, Oct. 7, when it travels to Rochester to take on non-conference foe, St. John Fisher. Action between the Herons and the Cardinals is set for 6 p.m.
