SELINSGROVE, PA (September 3, 2022) – The Susquehanna University Volleyball team continued their strong start to the season with two more wins to round out the 17th Annual River Hawk Classic and move to 3-0 on the young 2022 season. They topped the Beacons of UMASS Boston 25-22, 25-21, 25-12, before facing SUNY Brockport later in the day, completing a reverse sweep over the Golden Eagles with the set scores being 20-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-13.
Match 1: SU 3, UMASS Boston 0
The match started slowly for the River Hawks, with the teams trading points to start before UMB put together runs of four-straight and five-straight points in close succession to push their lead to as many as six points. The River Hawks would battle back though, with service runs from Lexie Kalligonis and Kody Dillon closing the gap and eventually giving them a lead that they'd see through to the end of the set, with Amanda Gore putting away a kill to claim the set for SU.
From that point, the River Hawks were awake and firing on all cylinders, maintaining complete control of the second and third sets and seeing out the 3-0 sweep. Senior Rosina Esposito led the way in scoring for the River Hawks, tallying 16 kills while hitting a stellar .500, also adding eight digs and a solo block in the match. Sophomore setter Keira Roach served as a well-rounded contributor with three kills, a .333 hitting percentage, 30 assists, 10 digs, and three service aces. Hitting would be the key differentiator between the two squads, with SU hitting .302 as a unit while UMB produced a -.012 effort.
Match 2: SU 3, SUNY Brockport 2
The final match of the day pit the two undefeated squads of the Classic against one another, with both teams having beaten Chatham University and UMASS Boston. Another slow start from SU put them at a disadvantage, this time being strongly outplayed in set one, Brockport winning 25-20 and outhitting the River Hawks with a percentage of .355 compared to SU's .182.
Set two was a closer affair, though Susquehanna remained chasing the Golden Eagles from behind for the majority of the set. An offensive slugfest saw both teams tally 14 kills in the set on nearly identical hitting percentages, with steadier serving ultimately giving Brockport the set win and a 2-0 lead. Set three looked bleak on multiple occasions for SU, with the squad trailing by as many as four points on two different occasions. However, they managed to stay within touching distance and a late four-point run carried by excellent serving from Kalligonis and Kody Dillon coming up big in the middle with a kill and a block assist in short succession helped the River Hawks grab the lead and the set win.
Set four again tested the mettle of SU, with the team trailing early on. Brockport reached a lead of 19-12 before the River Hawks unleashed an epic comeback run on the serve of Esposito, with Ryan Rorls turning in two big kills to help it along. The teams would tie at both the 20- and 21-point mark, before kills from Rorls, Emily Kowalski, and Dillon closed out the set and tied the match.
The teams battled back and forth in the tiebreaker set, but with the score knotted at eight apiece, the River Hawks again went on a scoring run, again led by great service from Kalligonis. They reached a score of 14-10 on a kill from Dillon but had to withstand a comeback attempt from Brockport this time, with the lead narrowing to one before Esposito stepped up and powered down the match-winning kill to complete the reverse sweep.
Esposito again led the way, racking up 22 kills which approaches her career-high of 25, while her 15 digs gave her a double-double for the match. She also had five service aces, two assists, a solo block, and a block assist. Roach also produced big numbers, with her 43 assists just two shy of her career high. Rorls would be the other double-digit attacker with 11 kills, along with two digs, an assist, and a block assist.
All-Tournament Team
Rosina Esposito - SU (MVP)
Ryan Rorls - SU
Andre's Coyle - Brockport
Madalyn Bowen - Brockport
Alyssa Leskovac - Chatham
Taryn Broughal - UMass
Up Next
- The River Hawks next match will again be at home, with the Diplomats of Franklin and Marshall College coming to O.W. Houts Gymnasium on Wednesday, September 7 for a 7:00 PM start time.
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--RIVER HAWKS--
