SELINSGROVE, PA – The Susquehanna volleyball seniors saved an epic five-setter against University of Rochester Friday night as part of senior day on the opening night of the River Hawk Classic. Susquehanna's victory was the second game played to begin the classic Friday night, succeeding the three-set win by William Smith in the opening match over Stevenson.
After the evening's pregame festivities that celebrated upperclassmen
Amanda Gore,
Emily Kowalski,
Brie Livezey,
Keira Roach, and
Ryan Rorls, the River Hawks jumped out to wins in the opening two sets, 25-19 and 25-17. The visiting Yellow Jackets traveled a long way to Selinsgrove and were not going down without a fight, swarming back to take the next two games, 25-13 and 25-21. It then moved to a contentious deciding set that saw each side have a crack at match point. Tied at 16-16, Susquehanna put the game away for good after Rorls delivered a kill, her team-leading 13
th on the night, which was followed by a UR attack error to give SU an 18-16 victory.
In the midst of the late fifth-set heroics, junior libero
Jessica Sack earned her 1,000
th career dig. Needing 16 going into Friday night, she earned just that on the match's penultimate rally. Her 16 digs were coupled with three assists. The River Hawks finished the night with a .181 attack percentage with 46 kills and just 18 errors on 155 attempts. Rorls' 13-attack night earned her a .244 attack percentage with just two errors on 45 attempts.
Amanda Gore earned 11 kills in a .556 percentage on the night with just one error on 18 attempts, while adding five block assists. Livezey held eight kills against UR with four block assists, while Kowalski generated five kills with four block assists and five digs. Roach rounded out the senior numbers with 36 assists, while totaling five kills with three of the squad's four service aces.
Saturday's leg of the River Hawk Classic opens with Susquehanna taking on Stevenson at 10 a.m. Rochester and William Smith have the second match at 12 noon, followed by Stevenson and Rochester at 2 p.m. and concluding with the River Hawks playing the William Smith Herons at 4 p.m. as part of the Morgan's Message Game in the fight for mental health awareness.
