SELINSGROVE, PA - The Susquehanna Women's Volleyball team's last Landmark conference match of the regular season against Catholic University ended with the Cardinals beating the River Hawks 3-2. Susquehanna won the first two sets of this match, but Catholic's aggressive play in the third set led them to winning the final three sets and completing the comeback.
The River Hawks found some solace by day's end, though, as their 5-4 Landmark record granted them a Landmark Tournament berth as the fourth seed and a home opening round game against fifth-seed Moravian at 7 p.m. The Greyhounds also finished their conference season at 5-4, with Susquehanna defeating them earlier this season in four sets.
How It Went Down
- The first set began with the River Hawks jumping out to an early 12-6 lead after scoring four straight points. Susquehanna managed to hold this lead throughout the set, until a late five point surge from Catholic shortened what once was an eight point Susquehanna lead to two points, making the score 20-18. From there though, the River Hawks only allowed Catholic to score two more points and held on to take set one 25-20.
- The second set was more neck-and-neck in the early going then the first, with neither team leading by more than three points. This trend continued for the majority of the set as both teams traded points. The River Hawks had 10 kills in the set to Catholic's 13, but it would be River Hawks that would steal the second set 25-23 after two errors from the Cardinals.
- Set three saw the two teams again in back-and-forth play, until Catholic exploded in the middle of the set. With the score at 15-10, the Cardinals went on a 10-4 run to close out the set, mostly dominating with kills and forcing attack errors against Susquehanna. The third set explosion led Catholic to win 25-13 and make the match score 2-1 Susquehanna.
- After the Cardinals jumped out to an early 10-8 lead in the fourth set, they would continue to widen the margin throughout the set by forcing more errors for the River Hawks that led to points. Catholic led by as much as seven in the set and were able to hold on and take set four 25-18 to force a fifth set.
- The fifth and final set began with the Cardinals building an early lead by scoring kills in bunches. With the score at 6-3, Catholic remained in the driver seat for the remainder of the set, with the River Hawks not able to keep up with the Cardinals offense. Thanks to the Cardinals nine kills in the fifth, Catholic was able to complete the comeback with a 15-11 set five win and beat Susquehanna 3-2.
Inside the Box Score
- Kyndall Mason and Addison Dodge both totaled 14.5 points on the day, with Dodge leading in the kills department with 12 and Mason recording 10 kills as well as three service aces. Sami Kline also contributed with 10.5 points from her nine kills and three block assists
- The River Hawks as a team had 24 kills to Catholics 27, while also recording a .096 hitting percentage to the Cardinal's .191
Up Next for the River Hawks
- The River Hawks will complete their 2025 regular season on the road with a double-header against Rowan University and Widener University on Saturday, November 8 at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., hosted by Rowan.
- Susquehanna plays host to Moravian in the Opening Round of the Landmark Tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. The winner heads to first-seed Juniata in the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.
