GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 sweep of Vassar this afternoon in Bristol Gymnasium. With the win, the Herons improved to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while the Brewers fall to 6-6 overall and 1-1 in the Liberty League.
William Smith put on a dominant performance against Vassar this afternoon. The Herons put down 44 kills (.279) compared to the Brewers' 35 (.206) and held a 43-33 advantage in assists. William Smith served up a season-high 15 aces, while holding Vassar to just two. The Herons also held a 53-46 advantage in digs, while the Brewers held a 4-3 edge in blocks in the conference showdown.
Senior Maren Hunt led William Smith with 10 kills on zero errors, hitting .667 in the sweep. Hunt also added one block in the win. First-year Cassidy Breuer also tallied 10 kills (.207) in the win and added eight digs and five service aces for the Herons. Classmate Senya Dorny chipped in nine kills (.571), three digs, two service aces and one block, while junior Emily Fulton tallied eight kills (.065), 10 digs, one block and one ace in the win. Defensively, junior libero Kali Vanderhoof led William Smith with 16 digs.
Holland Kaplan led the Brewers with 12 kills (.235) and six digs, while Maura McAusland added nine kills (.273), nine digs and a service ace in the loss. Francesca Medrano tallied a team-leading 27 assists for Vassar.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- The Herons opened up the conference battle with an impressive offensive showing, putting down a match-high 17 kills (.400), while holding the Brewers to a match-low eight kills (.121). Breuer led the way with five kills as William Smith closed out set one on top, 25-14.
- Vassar fought back in the second set, combining for 14 kills (.275) as a team. William Smith also recorded 14 kills (.205) in the set but impressed from the service line, serving up seven aces in the second set. The Herons rallied from behind late in the set and thanks to back-to-back service aces from Vanderhoof to close out set two on top, 25-23.
- William Smith closed out the sweep with a 13-kill (.250) performance in the third set. Vassar put down 13 kills (.206) but were matched by an efficient Heron offense that found four kills each from Dorny and Hunt in the third set. A Brewer hitting error would hand the Herons a 25-20 win in the final set of the day.
MATCH STATS:
- Hunt (.667) and Breuer (.207) led the Herons with 10 kills each in the sweep. Dorny chipped in nine kills (.571), while Fulton added eight (.065). Junior Arielle Newsome put down six kills (.545) out of the middle, while first-year Sage Duerr added one kill (.500) in the win.
- Junior Delainy Williams led the Herons from the setter position, tallying a match-high 40 assists in the win. Williams chipped in 11 digs and two service aces as well this afternoon.
- William Smith combined for 53 digs as a team and was led by Vanderhoof with 16. Williams added 11, while Fulton chipped in 10. Breuer tallied eight digs in the win, while Dorny added three in the sweep.
- The Herons served up a season-high 15 aces in the sweep and were led by Vanderhoof and Breuer with five aces each. Williams and Dorny chipped in two aces, while Fulton added one.
- The Green and White combined for three blocks in the win. Dorny, Hunt, Duerr and first-year Taylor Williams tallied one block each for William Smith.
COACHES CORNER:
"Another great showing from our team today!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "We had a bunch of really high-level aspects to our game that we can continue to build on. Anytime you can be undefeated in conference, you're happy so we have a lot of momentum going into Tuesday at Cortland!"
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action Tuesday, Sept. 29, when it travels to Cortland, New York, for a non-conference clash with SUNY Cortland. Action between the Herons and the Red Dragons is set for 6 p.m.
