SELINSGROVE, PA - The Susquehanna volleyball team had a four-match weekend that included Landmark matchups Friday at Scranton and Saturday at Drew. The River Hawks were swept against stiff competition Friday night at Scranton, falling to the Royals and ranked Virginia Wesleyan in three sets. At Drew on Saturday they dropped a five-setter against the Rangers, then again to Lancaster Bible in four.
Susquehanna 0, Scranton 3
- The match began with both teams in heavy back and forth action, with no team leading by more than three points in set one. With the score at 18-18 after a service error from Scranton, the Royals went on to score seven of the last eight points in the set after consecutive kills and service errors. A kill from Danielle Kramer gave the Royals a 25-19 win in the first set.
- Set two was even more neck-to-neck then the first, but began with Scranton up as much as 17-9. The River Hawks then scored six-straight points to cut the deficit to only two points. Susquehanna eventually tied the score at 18 apiece, and the two teams would return to back and forth action with the match stretching past the 25-point threshold.Tied 26 to 26, the Royals would score two straight points to survive the Susquehanna comeback and take a 2-0 match lead.
- Set three was nothing like the first two, as the Scranton Royals caught an early lead and never looked back. The River Hawks couldn't put together another comeback, as Scranton consistently capitalized on Susquehanna errors and racked up 10 kills in set three. A service error from Susquehanna would give the Royals 25-11 set three win and complete the sweep against the River Hawks.
- Kyndall Mason led the way in points for Susquehanna with 12.5 and also tacking on nine kills, a block and two service aces. Sami Kline also contributed with seven points from her seven kills, and Stella Robinson scored six kills for the River Hawks.
Susquehanna 0, Virginia Wesleyan 3
- The first set started with Virginia Wesleyan jumping out to an early 10-6 lead and proceeding to score the next eight straight points to extend their lead to 18-6. Susquehanna managed to score three more points before the set ended after an attack error from the River Hawks, giving the Marlins a 25-9 set one win.
- The second set again saw the Marlins gaining an early 12-7 lead over the River Hawks after four straight kills from Virginia Wesleyan. The Marlins continued the attack, going up by as much as eight. That's when Susquehanna started to make set 2 interesting after scoring four straight points two different times late in the third set, eventually making the score 24-20. Virginia Wesleyan eventually earned the last point of the set after a kill from Casey Wright that gave set two to Susquehanna 25-21.
- Set 3 began with an early Marlins lead that was shortened by the River Hawks. The two teams found themselves going back and forth, with Virginia Wesleyan eventually jumping out to a 22-15 lead over the River Hawks. A late three point surge was a gain not enough as a Susquehanna service error gave Virginia Wesleyan the sweep over Susquehanna with a 25-18 win over the River Hawks in set 3.
- Mason scored 10 points for Susquehanna with her eight kills and two service aces. Valerie Stoltz also recorded five kills, including two service aces as well.
Susquehanna 2, Drew 3
- The first set saw Susquehanna get up to an early 6-2 lead, but the Rangers eventually closed the gap when they tied the score at eight apiece. The River Hawks would jump out again, this time leading by as much as 18-12 after a service ace from Mason. The Rangers would then again close the gap, but with the score at 22-20, the River Hawks scored three straight for a set one 25-20 win.
- Set two saw Susquehanna jump out to another early lead, with the River Hawks going up by as much as 17-7 in the second set. Although a late comeback from Drew slowed down the bleeding, Susquehanna managed to hold on after a kill from Mason gave the River Hawks a 25-22 win in set 2. The River Hawks scored 12 kills as a team in the second frame.
- Set three began this time with both teams in back and forth action, with Drew later jumping out to a 12-7 lead. With Drew seemingly in control for most of the set, Susquehanna would score four straight points to tie the game at 18 apiece. The Rangers would reply back however, after Coco Otto scored five of the next six points herself all off of service aces. Otto's late game heroics helped Drew steal set 3 from the River Hawks and made the match score 2-1 Susquehanna.
- The fourth set saw Drew jump out to an early lead, with the score at 13-6. However this time it would be Susquehanna making a late comeback to try and steal the match winning set from the Rangers as they slowly crawled their way back into the set, tying the match 23-23. However the comeback would amount to nothing for the River Hawks as the Rangers scored two straight points to force a match five against Susquehanna.
- The deciding fifth set was instantly back and forth between both teams. No team led by more than 3 points until tied at 11, the Rangers would score four of the last six points in the set to win set five 15-12 and steal the match from the River Hawks. This was the first time Susquehanna lost this year after winning the first two sets in the match.
- The River Hawks totalled 60 kills as a team, with Addison Dodge, Stoltz, Mason, Robinson and Kline all scoring more than 10 points each.
Susquehanna 1, Lancaster Bible 3
- The first set saw LCB in control early, claiming 11-7 lead after a service error from the River Hawks. Susquehanna would eventually cut the deficit down to one point, and the lead margin would remain slim for the next couple of sets. With the score at 21 apiece, the Chargers took control late, scoring four straight points to take set one 25-21.
- Set two began with LCB gaining another early lead, but this time holding it throughout the set. The Chargers held the River Hawks to only 15 points in the set, on the way to taking set two 25-15.
- The third set this time saw both teams off to a good start, as the scoring remained close until LCB pulled ahead by five going up 13-8. Susquehanna would answer right back however, scoring five straight and keeping the game close. From 13-13 to 23-23 no team led by more than a single point, as the two teams traded kills between each other. With the score at 23 all, The River Hawks scored the final two points to take set 3 25-23 after a service ace from Jessica Sack and an attack error by LCB.
- The back and forth action that took over set three seemed to spill over to the fourth set, as the two teams kept it close until LBC eventually gained a 9-5 lead. However the Chargers would blow open the fourth set, scoring seven straight points and holding Susquehanna to under 15 points for most of the match. After a kill from Dodge for Susquehanna, the Chargers scored the final three points to give them the set four 25-16 win and defeat Susquehanna 3-1.
- Mason led once again in points for Susquehanna with 15, while also recording 13 kills and 13 digs. All 11 of Robinson's points in the match came for kills, while Dodge also totalled nine points, six kills and six block assists
Next for the River Hawks
- Susquehanna will travel to Grantham, PA for a non-conference match against Messiah University on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 7:00 p.m.
- Now at 4-3 in the Landmark Conference in 2025, the River Hawks next conference game will be on Halloween as they take on Goucher College in Selinsgrove at 7:00 p.m.
