SELINSGROVE, PA (October 8, 2022) – The final day of the Bromwyn Keener/Amanda Swazey Superstar Invite saw the Susquehanna volleyball team play two more matches on Saturday after having begun the weekend with a 3-0 victory over Neumann University on Friday night. The River Hawks would not falter in their winning ways, taking 3-0 wins over Thiel College and Vassar College to go 3-0 on the weekend and string together five straight sweeps.
Match 1: Susquehanna 3, Thiel 0 (25-11, 25-23, 25-16)
The River Hawks came out firing on all cylinders on Saturday morning, opening the match with a .353 hitting percentage in the first set en route to a strong statistical performance across the board and a well-controlled victory over the Tomcats. After some lower totals in recent matches, Rosina Esposito had a return to form with a strong 18 kill performance in the match. Perhaps more remarkable was her .467 hitting percentage, staying efficient despite the high volume of work. She added five digs, two service aces, an assist, and a block assist for a well-rounded start to the day. Sophomore Amanda Gore was second in kills with six and a .385 hitting percentage, while adding three block assists from her middle blocker position. Fellow middle blocker Kody Dillon had her own strong performance, tallying five kills and a .308 hitting percentage while leading the team with four block assists, also adding two service aces and two digs. Keira Roach put up 30 assists in the match to continue her strong campaign as the River Hawks' setter. She added six digs, three block assists, and a service ace.
The blocks in particular proved to be a big advantage for SU, with the team totaling seven compared to just one for Thiel. They also had ten service aces to Thiel's five and had a sizable kills advantage at 42-27.
Match 2: Susquehanna 3, Vassar 0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-12)
The River Hawks' second match of the day saw them again start strong, posting a .336 hitting percentage in the first set and tallying 19 kills in the set. Much of the match would be underlined by offensive errors from Vassar, who finished the match with a -.090 hitting percentage and tallied only 12 kills in the match. Susquehanna would see big advantages in most statistical categories, including putting up seven service aces to none for the Brewers, 33 assists to 10, and a big 41 kills compared to that 12 from Vassar.
Dillon led the way for SU in the second match, putting up nine kills and a .438 hitting percentage. She also added a dig, a block assist, and an assist. Gore had another strong showing, putting up eight kills and a stellar .615 hitting percentage, along with two block assists. Esposito was next with seven kills, along with six digs and a block assist. Senior Lexie Kalligonis led the team with 14 digs, while Roach again led in assists with 27.
The All-Tournament team saw six of the weekend's best players selected for their performances. The selections are as follows:
MVP: Kody Dillon, Susquehanna – 21 kills, 3.5 blocks, 5 service aces, 4 digs, 1 assist
Rosina Esposito, Susquehanna – 34 kills, 17 digs, 2.0 blocks, 3 service aces, 3 assists
Maria Torres, Thiel – 36 kills, 31 digs, 3.0 blocks, 11 service aces, 2 assists
Danielle Aulet, Thiel – 1 kill, 8 assists, 2 service aces, 67 digs
Claudia Bournazel, Neumann – 1 kill, 9 assists, 58 digs
Maya Levine, Vassar – 4 assists, 50 digs
Susquehanna will now face an extended stretch of road matches, with their next action taking them to San Antonio, TX where they will play three matches in two days, facing Nebraska Wesleyan University on Friday, October 14, before they face off with UC-Santa Cruz and hosts #2 Trinity University the next day, at 12 and 4 pm respectively.
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--RIVER HAWKS--
