SELINSGROVE, PA (September 17, 2022) -- Susquehanna University volleyball senior outside hitter Rosina Esposito eclipsed the 1,000-kill plateau on Saturday, as the River Hawks split a pair of non-conference matches in the 2022 Susquehanna Invitational. SU fell in three sets to Ithaca College 25-20, 25-19, 25-20 before topping Christopher Newport University in five sets with scores of 25-22, 25-23, 17-25, 21-25, 15-11. 

Match 1: Ithaca 3, Susquehanna 0
Visiting Ithaca College completed a 3-0 record for the weekend, as the Bombers knocked off SU behind some solid offensive play. Ithaca posted 47 kills on the match, hitting .292 led by Faith Sabatier and her 12 terminations. 

Ithaca (6-3) also got 11 terminations on 19 attempts from Leila Chipepo, while Alexandra Montgomery tallied 10 kills. For the River Hawks, Esposito finished with 10 kills, eight digs and an ace, while Ryan Rorls added six kills. Keira Roach finished with 22 assists and eight digs, while Jessica Sack posted seven digs as well. 

The River Hawks hit a solid .198 (30-12-91) for the match, but were outscored 59.0-40.0 on the match. 

Match 2: Susquehanna 3, CNU 2
The River Hawks won the first two sets, fighting off a late rally by the Captains to pick up the first win in program history over the perennial powers from Virginia. Susquehanna used a 6-0 run in the middle of the first set capped by a kill from Kody Dillon to make the score 13-8. SU led the rest of the first set as the River Hawks rallied with four straight points to take a 24-18 lead. CNU didn't go lightly, trimming SU's edge to two at 24-22, but a kill from Emily Kowalski clinched the opening set for the hosts. 

In the second, Esposito earned her milestone kill at the 18-15 mark of the set as she powered down a second-chance opportunity for kill No. 1,000. Susquehanna built its edge up to 22-17 and once again fended off a late run by the Captains as Kowalski sealed the second set once again with a kill. 

The visitors would control the third set from start to finish to make it a 2-1 SU lead, but the fourth set was much tighter. The River Hawks led 14-12 midway through the set and upped their lead to 19-15 following a kill by Esposito, but CNU tallied six straight to move in front at 21-19. CNU ended up posting a 9-2 run over the final 11 points to even the match at two sets apiece after a 25-21 win in the fourth. 

In the fifth set, SU regained momentum and led the entire way as Esposito earned the win for the River Hawks with a kill for the 15-11 fifth-set victory. 

Esposito posted yet another double-double for the River Hawks, logging 15 kills, 15 digs and four assisted blocks. Sophomore Amanda Gore was stellar with 11 kills and two blocks, while Dillon added nine kills, six blocks and eight digs. Kowalski and Rorls contributed seven terminations apiece, while Roach finished with 42 assists, 10 digs and three kills. Senior Faith Shaffer was strong with three aces and 13 digs, and Lexie Kalligonis and Jessica Sack both added nine digs. 

Mackenzie Wright was the leading scorer for the Captains with 18 kills, while Rebecca Frey led all players with 19 digs. 

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Up Next

• The River Hawks will head to Baltimore, MD on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. to battle No.14 Johns Hopkins University in non-conference play in a make-up of a match postponed this weekend. 

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