SELINSGROVE, PA - The 19th annual River Hawk Classic met its conclusion on Saturday with its namesake left standing as the only unbeaten team for the whole weekend. Following a five-set win over Rochester Friday night, Susquehanna's volleyball program opened the four-match Saturday slate defeating Stevenson in four sets. After a lengthy two-match gap, a restful River Hawks team faced perhaps its toughest test against RV William Smith. They opened up winning the first two sets on the Herons, though WSC returned the favor to force a deciding fifth game, which SU prevailed on in a 15-12 victory.

The three victories between Friday and Saturday gives Susquehanna a much-needed boost going into Tuesday's Landmark Conference Quarterfinals match against Catholic at home at 7 p.m. The River Hawks locked up the four seed with a 6-3 league record and carry with them a 19-9 overall mark. They defeated the Cardinals in three sets during the regular season on Oct. 26 in D.C. The fifth-seeded Cardinals landed at 5-4 in the Landmark and 14-20 overall.

Against the Mustangs Saturday morning the River Hawks survived a close first set with a 26-24 win. After Stevenson responded with a 25-19 win in set two the River Hawks regained control of the match after scoring the last three points of set three to win the frame, 25-22, followed by a 25-21 victory in the fourth game. Amanda Gore, Emma Willow and Emily Kowalski each brought in 11 kills, with Gore delivering two service aces and five block assists. Ryan Rorls tacked on eight kills. Regan Kane administered three service aces and ten digs, while setter Keira Roach had two aces with 33 assists and ten digs. Jessica Sack, fresh off of clearing the 1,000 career digs mark in Friday night's game against Rochester, made it 1,012 digs for her career with 12. For the match the River Hawks finished with a .204 hitting percentage on 49 kills with just 20 errors. The Mustangs put up a good fight in that category with a .261 hitting percentage on 54 kills and 17 errors. Perhaps another key component was the Maryland SU penalized by 12 service errors and nine set errors. 

The River Hawk Classic lived up to its billing by the end of the day Saturday as the middle matches, consisting of Rochester/William Smith and Stevenson/Rochester, weighed in at five sets and four sets, respectively. William Smith, who ended up on the short end of their five-setter with Rochester, was up against it in the nightcap as Susquehanna won the first two sets by 25-20 scores on the program, just in its third year of existence, that received votes in the latest AVCA Division III national rankings. But any thoughts of a quick victory subsided as the Herons battled back to win the next two games by 25-17 and 25-22 marks. In the deciding contest Susquehanna raced out to a 6-2 lead. While the Herons nipped at the River Hawks' heels to make it 12-11, Kowalski got back-to-back kills for match point, followed by Gore and Brie Livezey closing up shop with a block to win 15-12. 

Kowalski led the way for the River Hawks with 15 kills and four blocks, while Gore tacked on four aces and five blocks. Keira Roach finished with 32 assists and 14 digs with two aces, giving her 2,592 assists for her career, while Jessica Sack had 23 digs, bringing her career numbers up to 1,035 in that category. Livezey and Willow each totaled seven kills, while Callie Wince had three aces.