GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith volleyball team opened conference play with a 3-0 sweep of Union this evening in Bristol Gymnasium. With the win, the Herons improve to 8-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while the Garnet Chargers fall to 7-4 overall and 0-1 in the Liberty League.
William Smith put on an impressive performance in the sweep of Union. The Herons put down 43 kills (.241) as a team compared to the Garnet Chargers' 27 (.093). William Smith held a 61-49 edge in digs, a 41-26 advantage in assists and a 12-6 edge in service aces. Union combined for eight total blocks as a team, while the Herons combined for seven as a team.
First-year Cassidy Breuer led William Smith with 11 kills (.241) in the sweep. Breuer added 11 digs for fourth double-double of the season and also chipped in three service aces and one assist in the win. Junior Emily Fulton put added nine kills (.095), 10 digs, one service ace, one block and an assist, while senior Maren Hunt chipped in eight kills (.250) and five blocks out of the middle. Defensively, the Herons were led by junior libero Kali Vanderhoof's 14 digs.
Union was led by Kayla Martinez Cartagena's eight kills (.097), nine digs and one service ace. Erin Stevens added seven kills (.300) and two blocks, while Allie Kronenberg tallied a team-high 21 assists for the Garnet Chargers.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- William Smith came out firing in the opening set, putting down a match-high 19 kills (.500), while holding Union to a match-low six kills (.103). The Herons jumped out to a 15-7 lead and never looked back. Fulton and Breuer led William Smith with four kills each as the Herons closed out set one on top, 25-11.
- Union responded well in the second set, putting down 12 kills (.085) but were matched by an efficient Heron side that put down 12 kills (.132) as well. Despite a late comeback from the Garnet Chargers, William Smith used a big kill from Fulton to take set two, 25-22.
- The back-and-forth third set saw William Smith combine for 12 kills (.138), while the Garnet Chargers tallied nine kills (.097). After strong serving from Union, the Garnet Chargers jumped out to an 18-12 lead before the Herons stormed back to send the set to extra points. Back-to-back service aces from Breuer followed by a big William Smith block closed out the sweep with a 26-24 win for the Herons.
MATCH STATS:
- Breuer tallied a team-leading 11 kills (.241) in the win, while Fulton added nine (.095). Hunt chipped in eight kills (.250) out of the middle, while first-year Senya Dorny added seven (.333). Junior Arielle Newsome tallied six kills (.667) on zero errors in the sweep.
- Junior Delainy Williams led William Smith from the setter position this evening and tallied a match-high 34 assists. Williams added 12 digs, three service aces, two kills (.400) and one block in the win.
- The Herons combined for 61 digs as a team in the win and were led by Vanderhoof with 14. Williams chipped in 12, while Breuer added 11. Sophomore Lily Wittgraefe recorded a season-high 10 digs in the sweep, while Fulton also added 10.
- William Smith served up 12 aces in the win and were led by Vanderhoof, Williams and Breuer with three aces each. Fulton, Dorny and Newsome chipped in one ace each in the win.
- The Green and White combined for seven blocks in the win and were led by Hunt with five. Dorny chipped in three blocks, while Newsome added one out of the middle.
COACHES CORNER:
"Opening conference 1-0 is always a great feeling!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "I was really happy with the intensity of which we entered the match and our mental recovery throughout. I think it shows the caliber of this team being down 12-18 in the third set, staying the course, and finding a way to close out the match with a sweep. We need to regroup, rest up, and be ready for another test in Vassar tomorrrow."
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action tomorrow to continue conference play against Vassar. First serve between the Herons and the Brewers is set for 2 p.m. in Bristol Gymnasium.
