ITHACA, NY - Susquehanna volleyball completed their final two matches in the Ithaca Tri-Match Tournament with a pair of nationally-ranked opponents. The morning match was against eighth-ranked Johns Hopkins, followed by 25th-ranked Ithaca in what proved to be a showcase of how resilient the River Hawks are. While both matches ended in a score of 3-0 favoring the opponent, Susquehanna looked undaunted by the accolades of their competitors and fought hard until the end of each match.
As underwhelming as their recent slew of matches were, Susquehanna has shown its resiliency against nationally-recognized opponents, especially knowing that they have the defending national champions Juniata waiting for them in their Landmark slate. The River Hawks have one more weekend challenge before their anticipated matchup with the JC Eagles, traveling up to New England for the Tufts/Wesleyan Invite. They will play the co-hosts, ranked 18th and 19th, respectively, with a matchup against RIT in between.
Johns Hopkins 3, Susquehanna 0
It was a battle of the birds to kick off day two of the tournament, with the River Hawks taking on the eighth-ranked Blue Jays.
Susquehanna came out swinging in the first set, leading on four separate occasions before ultimately falling by a score of 25-21. Sets two and three ended with scores of 25-22 and 25-21, respectively, although the River Hawks continued to fight late into each, coming back from 21-15 and 24-19 deficits.
Emily Kowalski once again was the stand-out player, leading the River Hawks in kills with 10 and digs with 12. Keira Roach collected 11 assists while first-years Sami Kline and Emma Willow contributed to a sturdy defense with 3 blocks each. As a team, Susquehanna finished with a much-improved .218 hit percentage, generating 29 kills and 10 errors on 87 attempts.
Ithaca 3, Susquehanna 0
The second match was another rigorous test for the River Hawks, as they took on the host Bombers in a crowded South Hill environment. Susquehanna made the first statement of the match, scoring on a block by junior duo Amanda Gore and Brianna Livezey. The rest of set one was tightly fought, with Ithaca eventually coming out on top 25-17. The final two sets were a similar story, with SU holding the score tight before ultimately dropping both with scores of 25-19 and 25-17.
This match saw many contributors from the eight first years on the team, with Katelyn Dugery and Samantha Kline leading the team with a hitting percentage of .333 each. Kiera Roach and Delaney McCoy led the team in assists with 10 and 9 respectively, as Valerie Stoltz supplied 9 digs.
Susquehanna ended the match with a .102 hitting percentage on 31 kills and 21 errors over 98 attempts. Ithaca would finish with a .313 hitting percentage after collecting 38 kills on 12 errors over 83 attempts.
