The William Smith volleyball team cruised to back-to-back victories this afternoon in Bristol Gymnasium over Union and Nazareth. The Herons defeated the Garnet Chargers 3-1 before ending the day with a sweep of the Golden Flyers. William Smith is now 20-3 on the season, including a 7-1 record in conference play, while Union falls to 18-8 overall with a 4-4 mark in the Liberty League. Nazareth fell twice this afternoon and falls to 15-11 overall.
Junior Malya Sayre led the Herons through two matches, tallying 29 kills on a .185 hitting percentage. She averaged 4.14 kills per set through seven sets and added 25 digs, six service aces, three blocks and two assists in the win. Her 13-kill and 16-dig performance against Union was her 12th double-double of the season.
Junior Jaylynn McCarthy and first-year Arielle Newsome both had standout performances out of the middle for William Smith this afternoon. McCarthy put down 19 kills (.441) through two matches and added nine blocks, two digs and two service aces. Newsome tallied 17 kills (.500) through seven sets and added five blocks in the wins. Her 12 kills (.588) against the Garnet Chargers were a career high.
First-year setter Delainy Williams continued to impress for the Herons and combined for 85 assists on the day. She averaged 12.14 assists per set to lead William Smith to its sixth-straight win. She added 12 digs, three kills (.111), three service aces, and two blocks in the wins.
MATCH MOMENTS:Match 1 (Union):
MATCH MOMENTS:Match 1 (Union):
- The Herons came out firing in the crucial conference matchup with the Garnet Chargers and combined for 10 kills (.222) as a team in the opening set. William Smith held Union to match-low seven kills and a -.057 hitting percentage to earn a dominating 25-15 win in set one.
- The Garnet Chargers responded well and combined for 11 kills (.265). Despite putting down 14 kills (.128), the Herons racked up nine hitting errors in the second set to hand Union a 25-19 win.
- William Smith regrouped in the third and found four kills each from Newsome, and junior’s Marin Montagne and Hope Von Dohlen to combine for a match-high 18 kills (.389) as a team. After nine tie scores, the Herons closed out the third set with a Von Dohlen kill and a Chargers hitting error to sneak out a 25-23 win to regain the lead.
- William Smith continued its momentum into the fourth set and put on a dominant performance with 15 kills (.167) compared to Union’s seven (.025). Montagne and McCarthy led the Herons with five kills each in the set to help William Smith close out the match with a 25-19 win in set four.
Match stats:
- Sayre paced the Herons with 13 kills (.057), while McCarthy (.381) and Newsome (.588) chipped in 12 kills each out of the middle. Montagne added 11 kills (.242) in the win for William Smith.
- Williams put on a stellar performance from the setter position and recorded 48 assists in the win. She added six digs, two service aces and a kill through four sets.
- The Herons combined for 79 digs as a team and had three players record double-digit digs. Montagne led the team with a season-high 22, while first-year libero Kali Vanderhoof tallied 19. Sayre added 16 digs, while sophomore Maysie Malinaric chipped in nine in the win.
- William Smith tallied 12 service aces in the win and was led by Malinaric with a season-high three. Montagne, Sayre, Vanderhoof and Williams chipped in two each.
- The Herons held an 8-7 edge in blocks over the Garnet Chargers and were led by Von Dohlen with six. McCarthy and Newsome chipped in four each out of the middle.
Match 2 (Nazareth):
- The Herons continued to impress in the second match of the day as they opened the first set with 14 kills (.462) as a team. They held the Golden Flyers to just eight kills (.111) and produced four service aces to grab the early lead with a 25-16 win in set one.
- Just like the opening set, William Smith combined for 14 kills (.400) and held Nazareth to eight (.160) to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Sayre led the Herons with six kills and three service aces to hand William Smith a 25-16 win in the second set.
- William Smith’s offense was firing on all cylinders in the final set as the Herons combined for 17 kills as a team (.244). They also held the Golden Flyers to a match-low six kills (.028) to close out the sweep with their third straight 25-16 set win.
Match stats:
- Sayre paced the Herons for the second time of the day with 16 kills on a .429 hitting percentage. McCarthy (.538) and Montagne (.353) chipped in seven kills each while Von Dohlen (.105) and Newsome (.385) added five each in the win.
- Williams continued to shine for William Smith and tallied 37 assists in the sweep. She added six digs, two blocks, two kills (.200) and one service ace in the win.
- The Herons combined for 44 digs as a team and were led by Vanderhoof with 11 and Montagne with 10. Sayre chipped in nine digs in the win
- William Smith put on a dominant performance from the service line and combined for 11 service aces as a team. Sayre led the way with four, while Vanderhoof chipped in three. McCarthy, Williams, sophomore Maren Hunt and first-year Emily Fulton each recorded an ace in the sweep.
- The Herons combined for seven blocks in the win. McCarthy put on a dominant performance with five blocks and was followed by Sayre and Williams with two each.
COACHES CORNER:
“Today was another great day for our team!” said Head Coach Derryk Williams. “20 wins in a season with the schedule we have faced is an incredible accomplishment for our team and I know they are hungry for more. Our middles were unstoppable all day and it was a great overall team performance. Three big matches to close out the regular season next week so we need to get back in the gym with a growth mindset on Monday.”
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in next weekend, Nov. 8-9, when it heads to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, for its final three regular-season matches of the season. The Herons will take on Stevenson on Friday at 4 p.m., before matching up with Rochester and Susquehanna on Saturday at noon and 4 p.m., respectively.
“Today was another great day for our team!” said Head Coach Derryk Williams. “20 wins in a season with the schedule we have faced is an incredible accomplishment for our team and I know they are hungry for more. Our middles were unstoppable all day and it was a great overall team performance. Three big matches to close out the regular season next week so we need to get back in the gym with a growth mindset on Monday.”
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in next weekend, Nov. 8-9, when it heads to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, for its final three regular-season matches of the season. The Herons will take on Stevenson on Friday at 4 p.m., before matching up with Rochester and Susquehanna on Saturday at noon and 4 p.m., respectively.
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