The William Smith volleyball team closed out the 2024 Stevens Institute Tournament with back-to-back wins on Saturday to extend its win streak to six straight. The Herons swept Wentworth 3-0 before earning a 3-1 win over Stevens, who were receiving votes in this week’s national poll. With the wins, William Smith moves to 9-2 on the season, while the Leopards fall to 8-4 and the Ducks fall to 8-2 overall.
Junior Malya Sayre led the Herons through two matches, tallying 26 kills (.227) and 31 digs on back-to-back double-doubles. She added two blocks and two service aces in the wins. Classmate Hope Von Dohlen added 20 kills (.286) through seven sets. She added eight digs and five blocks in the win. Jaylynn McCarthy (.333) and first-year Arielle Newsome (.471) added 16 and 10 kills out of the middle, respectively. The duo combined for 14 blocks on the day.
First-year setter Delainy Williams tallied 85 assists through seven sets, averaging an impressive 12.14 assists per set. She added 12 digs, four blocks, three service aces and three kills through the two wins.
MATCH MOMENTS:
Match 1 (Wentworth):
- The Herons and the Leopards both came out strong in the first set as William Smith put down 13 kills (.136) as a team compared to Wentworth’s 11 (.111). The Leopards jumped out to a late lead but a 7-0 run by the Herons closed out set one with a 25-22 win for William Smith. Junior Cydney Fernandez recorded two huge service aces during the scoring run to help propel the Herons to the win.
- William Smith continued to put on an impressive performance in the second set, putting down a match-high 21 kills as a team, combining for a .326 hitting percentage. Similar to the first set, the Herons stormed back late in the second set to extend their lead to 2-0 with a 25-23 win.
- The Herons flipped the script in the third set and jumped out to a 20-11 lead after another strong service run by Fernandez. The Leopards chipped away at William Smith’s lead but couldn’t catch up as the Herons closed out the sweep with a big kill by Montagne and a Wentworth hitting error for a 25-20 win.
Match stats:
- Sayre led the Herons with 15 kills and 16 digs through three sets, hitting an impressive .316 clip. It was her sixth double-double of the season. Von Dohlen followed closely behind with 10 kills on two errors, hitting a .421 hitting percentage. Montagne chipped in nine kills (.192) in the win.
- Williams recorded a match-high 41 assists in the win. She added six digs and two kills (.167) for William Smith.
- The Herons combined for 57 digs as a team and were led by Sayre with 16 and first-year libero Kali Vanderhoof with 10.
- William Smith tallied six service aces as a team and was led by Fernandez with a career-high five. Junior Jaylynn McCarthy tallied the final service ace for the Herons.
Match 2 (Stevens):
- Stevens caught the hot hand in the opening set, putting down 17 kills (.229) as a team, while holding William Smith to 11 (.150). The Ducks shot out to an early lead that the Herons couldn’t come back from as Stevens closed out set one on top 25-22.
- William Smith bounced back in the second set, putting down 12 kills (.133) compared to Stevens’ eight (-.029). The Herons served strong in the second set, forcing the Ducks out of system often and into an impressive William Smith block. The Herons tied the match up at 1-1 with a 25-18 win in set two.
- The Herons continued on their momentum into the third set, putting down a match-high 16 kills on an impressive .361 hitting percentage. William Smith was producing from all positions, which Stevens didn’t have an answer to. A kill by Von Dohlen and a Ducks attack error handed the Herons a 25-18 win in set three.
- William Smith continued to impress in the fourth set, putting down 10 kills (.133) as a team. The Herons held the Ducks to a match-low three kills on a -0.370 hitting percentage with no response to the sharp William Smith side. The Herons cruised to a convincing 25-12 win in set four to earn its sixth straight win.
Match stats:
- Four different Herons recorded double-digit kills against the Ducks. William Smith was led by Sayre with 11 (.135), while McCarthy (.400), Montagne (.128) and Von Dohlen (.174) all chipped in 10 each. Newsome tallied a career-high seven kills on an impressive .600 hitting percentage in the win.
- Williams had another strong showing from the setter position, recording 44 assists in the win. She added six digs, four blocks and one kill for the Herons.
- William Smith combined for 57 digs as a team and had three players record double-digit digs. Sayre led the way with 15, while Vanderhoof and Montagne chipped in 12 each. Fernandez tallied eight digs in the win.
- The Herons had another strong showing at the net, combining for 12 blocks as a team compared to Stevens’ four. McCarthy registered a career-high eight blocks while Von Dohlen, Williams and Newsome added four each.
- William Smith held a 9-5 advantage in service aces and were led by Williams with three. Sayre, Vanderhoof added two each in the win.
COACHES CORNER:
“What an amazing weekend for our team!” said Head Coach Derryk Williams. “We went in and competed at the highest level with such grit and passion. Stevens is a top-ranked program, but I think we showed today what we are capable of as a team! Being down 12-20 in a second set against Wentworth and coming back shows the heart this team has. Cydney was unbelievable all weekend long from the service line and Delainy showed why she’s been rookie of the week twice already this year. Jay and Ari both stepped up to the challenge against two great middles on Stevens and played amazing! All of our pins were strong today and Kali was steady as always in the libero role. Overall, top to bottom, a great weekend as we head into conference play next week. I am very proud!”
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action Friday, Sept. 27, when it travels to the North Country to open conference play against St. Lawrence. First serve between the Herons and the Saints is set for 7 p.m.
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