SELINSGROVE, PA – Susquehanna volleyball took on the Elizabethtown College Blue Jays in a Tuesday night conference matchup featuring senior night. The Blue Jays left the victor after securing all three sets, winning by close margins of 25-20, 27-25, and 25-20. The River Hawks will look to bounce back on Saturday against another feathered foe in the Catholic Cardinals. SU's match against Goucher on Friday has been rescheduled to Tuesday, October 17.
After seniors
Maddy Kempski and
Sam Michael were honored in one of their final home matches, the River Hawks looked to pick up a key first set against an evenly matched Etown team. After a close battle, Susquehanna saw themselves in an 11-10 deficit after a timeout from head coach
Kuuipo Tom. The Blue Jays then put together a strong 8-2 run to pull the score heavily in their favor. As they've done all season, the River Hawks rallied back with a run of their own, ending the set with a final score of 25-20 in favor of E-Town.
Susquehanna found themselves in an early 6-1 hole to begin set two, and after a timeout from Coach Tom, the deficit was widened to 7-1. Coach Tom's words would not escape the River Hawks, however, as they put together a 9-2 run including four kills from
Amanda Gore as they took a 10-9 lead. The rest of set two was back-and-forth between the two rivals, even entering extra points until Etown eventually finished the set with a 27-25 victory.
The final set included another tough start for Susquehanna, as Etown jumped out to a swift 8-3 lead. The River Hawks would prove unable to climb out of the hole created early in the match, however they did provide a hard-hitting 9-2 run late in the match which included back-to-back service aces from
Jessica Sack to pull the match close with a score of 21-19 in favor of the Blue Jays. The River Hawks were unable to complete the fruitful comeback, losing the final set by a score of 25-20.
Sami Kline,
Kyndall Mason, and
Stella Robinson all shared the team lead in kills with nine apiece, followed closely by
Amanda Gore with eight. First year
Delaney McCoy recorded 22 assists on the night as she drew the start, while
Keira Roach finished close behind with 12 of her own.
Jessica Sack smacked 3 service aces on the night to lead the team in that category. Libero
Valerie Stoltz collected 23 digs during the match to lead the River Hawks, followed by
Regan Kane who set a season-high in that category with 11.
Susquehanna finished the night with a .138 team hitting percentage with 39 kills on 138 attempts accompanied by 20 errors. Etown finished with a .232 team hitting percentage with 44 kills on 138 attempts alongside 12 errors.
