GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith volleyball team improved to 2-0 on the season as it defeated Oswego State 3-0 on Day 2 of the Heron Invitational. With the loss, the Lakers fell to 0-3 on the season.
William Smith put on another dominant performance, leading Oswego in several statistical categories. The Herons put down 55 kills, hitting an impressive .456 as a team, while the Lakers combined for just 20 kills (.118). William Smith held a 36-18 edge in digs and a 54-21 advantage in assists. The Herons also served up six aces compared to the Lakers' two. Oswego combined for three blocks as a team compared to William Smith's two.
First-year Cassidy Breuer continued her impressive start to her collegiate career, putting down a match-high 18 kills (.367), and eight digs in the win. Junior Emily Fulton added 12 kills (.478), eight digs, four service aces and one assist, while classmate Arielle Newsome chipped in eight kills (.500), one dig and one block out of the middle.
Gigi Basile led the Lakers in the loss with six kills (.375). Priscilla McReynolds added four kills (.038), two blocks and one assist in the setback. Taylor Galligan tallied a team-high 13 assists for Oswego.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- William Smith came out hot in the opening set, firing off 18 kills (.419), while holding Oswego to seven kills (.143). Breuer led the way with five kills in set one, leading the Herons to a dominant 25-13 win to open the match.
- The Herons continued to roll in set two, combining for 18 kills (.640) again, while keeping the Lakers to a match-low five kills (.053). Breuer and Newsome combined for 11 kills as William Smith cruised to a 25-15 win in set two.
- William Smith closed out the sweep with a match-high 19 kills (.353) in set three. Oswego tried to respond, putting down a match-high eight kills (.138) but were matched by a scrapy Heron defense who combined for 13 digs. A kill by first-year Jayden Hanson would close out the sweep with a 25-18 win for William Smith.
MATCH STATS:
- Breuer led the Herons with a career-high 18 kills (.367), while Fulton added 12 (.478) in the win. Newsome chipped in eight kills (.500) out of the middle, while first-year Senya Dorny added seven kills (.400) from the right side. Senior Maren Hunt put down six kills (.714) in the win.
- Hanson and junior Delainy Williams led William Smith from the setter position, tallying 20 and 22 assists each, respectively. Hanson chipped in five digs, two service aces and five kills (.667), while Williams added five digs in the sweep.
- The Herons combined for 36 digs as a team and were led by Breuer and Fulton with eight each. Junior libero Kali Vanderhoof added seven, while Williams and Hanson added five each.
- William Smith served up six aces in the win and were led by Fulton with a season-high four. Hanson added two aces in the sweep.
- The Green and White tallied two team blocks in the sweep and were led by Dorny with two and Newsome with one.
COACHES CORNER:
"Today was another step forward for our team," said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "We are constantly hingry to expand our game and I feel our intent, overall, was really great. Super excited to see our team compete against a perennial powerhouse in Wesleyan tomorrow. We would love as much support as we can get as we battle with a top 15 opponent!"
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action tomorrow to compete on Day 3 of the Heron Invitational. The Herons will take on No. 15 Wesleyan at noon in Bristol Gymnasium.
