BROCKPORT, N.Y.—On day one of the Brockport State Tournament Friday (Oct. 28), the Allegheny College volleyball team defeated Saint Lawrence University in five sets.
The Gators won the sets 16-25, 26-24, 24-26, 25-23 and 15-12.
The Saints jumped out to an early 5-2 lead before the Gators rattled off four straight points. After falling behind by two, the Gators once again went on a big run, 6-0, to retake the lead, 12-8. The back-and-forth opening set continued as the Saints went on a 12-3 run to take a 20-15 lead, forcing a Gator timeout. The timeout failed to stifle the Saints' momentum as they allowed just one more point one their way to a 25-16 opening set win.
The Gators grabbed a 4-2 lead early in the second set. However, the Saints fought back and tied the set at seven. After tying the set, the Saints won the ensuing five points to take a 12-7 lead. The Gators won the next three points to decrease the lead to two but the Saints went on a 4-1 run, bringing on a Gator timeout. The Saints extended their lead to 21-15 following the timeout but the Gators did not back down. Off the serves of
Justine Kelly, the Gators brought the game within one, 22-21, forcing a Saints timeout. After trading the next four points, the Gators tied it at 24 on an attack error. The next point had the same result as the Gators took the lead, 25-24. After the Saints called timeout,
Alysha Crowther recorded a kill to give the Gators the set, 26-24.
The Saints got out to a fast start in the third set, taking a 5-0 lead but the Gators answered with six straight points. The teams continued to go back-and-forth throughout the set. The Gators found the first real advantage since early in the set, taking a 19-16 lead. The advantage was short lived as the Saints went on a 6-2 run to take the lead. The Gators fended off three set points trailing 24-21 to tie the game. However, the Saints recovered and won the final two points of the set for the 26-24 win.
The Gators jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the fourth set but the Saints tied the set at 13. After trading points back-and-forth, the Saints gained a 19-17 advantage. After calling a timeout, the Gators won five of the next eight points to tie the set at 22. After the Saints called timeout, the Gators won the next two points for a set point leading 24-22. The Saints fended off one set point but
Hannah Cubarney recorded the set point to give the Gators a 25-23 win and send the match into the fifth set.
The Saints won the first three points of the deciding fifth set but the Gators went on a 6-3 run to tie it up. The back-and-forth theme of the early sets held true in the fifth as the teams went point-for-point and found themselves tied at 11. The Gators won the next two points to force a Saints' timeout. Following the timeout,
Leah Franzluebbers tallied a kill to set up a match point. The Saints survived the first match point but
Karissa Welker hit the final kill to give the Gators the five set win.
Franzluebbers and Crowther led the Gators with 13 kills apiece. Cubarney also hit double digits with 12 kills.
Kelly assisted on 42 points with four aces and 12 digs.
Defensively, the Gators were led by
Terra Schall's 22 digs.
Kylee Karczewski had 16 digs while Welker had 15. Cubarney had assisted one four blocks while
Lauren Duffy assisted on three.
The Gators conclude their 2016 season Saturday (Oct. 29) with a pair of matches at the Brockport State tournament. They face Brockport State at 10 a.m. followed by the University of Scranton at 12:20 p.m.
