The William Smith volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 conference sweep of RIT Wednesday in Clark Gymnasium. With the win, the Herons move to 16-3 overall with a 6-1 record in conference play, while the Tigers fall to 14-10 overall with a 3-3 mark in the Liberty League.
William Smith continued to shine and put on an impressive performance on the road, holding the edge in several statistical categories. The Herons combined for 38 kills as a team, hitting a collective .213 hitting percentage while holding the Tigers to 28 kills and a .131 hitting percentage. William Smith combined for eight blocks as a team compared to RIT’s seven and held a 10-6 advantage in service aces in the conference battle. The Herons also combined for 34 digs as a team compared to the Tigers 29.
Junior’s Malya Sayre and Hope Von Dohlen led William Smith in the win. Sayre put down a match-high 12 kills (.103), and recorded five digs and four service aces while Von Dohlen chipped in 11 kills (.450), two digs and two blocks in the win. First-year Emily Fulton got the start for William Smith and tallied six kills, four digs, two blocks and one service ace.
Mia Gerber led the Tigers with nine kills (.033) in the loss. Sydney Neff tallied 19 assists, four kills (.400) and four blocks for RIT.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- The Herons came out firing in the first set and put down 12 kills (.241) as a team compared to the Tigers match-low seven (.037). Von Dohlen led William Smith with four kills on seven swings and added one block to win the opening set 25-19.
- William Smith continued on its momentum into the second set and combined for 10 kills (.071) as a team. Sayre put down six (.167) of the Herons 10 kills in the second and led William Smith from the service line to grab a 25-21 win.
- The Herons closed out the sweep with a dominating performance, putting down a match-high 16 kills (.312) as a team in the third set. Von Dohlen tallied five kills (.300) while Sayre (.286) and Fulton (.286) chipped in four each to lead William Smith to a 25-20 win to close out the sweep.
MATCH STATS:
- Sayre paced the Herons with 12 kills (.103) and was followed by Von Dohlen with 11 (.450). Fulton chipped in six kills in the win (.231), while junior Jaylynn McCarthy and first-year Arielle Newsome added four kills each out of the middle.
- First-year setter Delainy Williams tallied a match-high 31 assists for William Smith. She added four digs, three service aces, two blocks and one kill (.333) in the win.
- The Herons combined for 34 digs as a team and were led by first-year libero Kali Vanderhoof with 11. Junior defensive specialist Cydney Fernandez chipped in seven, while Sayre added five digs in the win.
- William Smith continued to shine at the net and tallied eight blocks as a team. Newsome led the Herons with five blocks, while McCarthy added three and Von Dohlen chipped in two.
- The Herons combined for 10 service aces as a team and were led by Sayre with four. Williams chipped in three, while McCarthy, Fulton and Vanderhoof tallied one each.
COACHES CORNER:
“Tonight was a great performance from our team,” said Head Coach Derryk Williams. “We did a really good job of staying steady, keeping our cool, and finding a way to win! Every win and conference win is important at this point and I am excited for this team to continue to improve and make history!”
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 26, when it heads to Clinton, for the Hamilton Tri-Match. The Herons will take on Wheaton (MA) at 11 a.m., before taking on the host Continentals at 3 p.m. in Margaret Bundy Scott Field House.
William Smith will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 26, when it heads to Clinton, for the Hamilton Tri-Match. The Herons will take on Wheaton (MA) at 11 a.m., before taking on the host Continentals at 3 p.m. in Margaret Bundy Scott Field House.
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