Clarkson Wins N.C.A.A. Opener 3-1, But Falls in Second Round 3-0

Clarkson University’s Rachel Simons (14) successfully lofts the ball over the net and past the attempted block by St. Lawrence’s Marta Johann (15).  (Ryan Bercume photo)  Match Gallery

The St. Lawrence University volleyball team's 2011 season came to an end on Friday, as Skidmore College completed the sweep, 25-14, 25-22, 25-21, in the Liberty League Semifinals in Potsdam, NY. The Saints finish with a 19-17 overall record, while the Thoroughbreds move to 26-8 overall.  Skidmore will face top-seeded Clarkson University in the Liberty League Championship match at 4:00 pm on Saturday afternoon. St. Lawrence was unable to get much going offensively in the first set, as Skidmore came out strong, hitting .412 in the first set with 17 kills.  In the final two sets, the Saints took early leads and forced the Thoroughbreds to take timeouts to pull things together.  Each time, Skidmore was able to change pace to regain the lead and the Saints were unable to pull out victories, losing each by small margins.    Senior co-captain Nyasha Miller paced the Saints as she hit .382 for the match with 15 kills and just two errors in 34 swings.  Classmate Liz Grogan added 10 kills, while sophomore Anna Kassab had 24 assists.  Sophomore Katie Prue led the team defensively with nine digs. 

October 29:  The St. Lawrence University volleyball team concluded its non-conference play at the Regional Challenge in Rochester, NY on Saturday.  The Saints suffered a 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-23) loss to Fredonia to open the day, and then rebounded to take a close 3-2 (25-15, 25-19, 21-25, 23-25, 15-13) decision against Nazareth.  The Saints close the weekend with a 19-16 overall record.  The Liberty League tournament is St. Lawrence's next stop as it will battle Skidmore on Friday, November 4th in the semifinal.  Regular season champ Clarkson University is hosting the tournament in Potsdam, NY.  "We faced two excellent opponents today and it was exactly what we needed in preparation for playoffs," said St. Lawrence Head Coach Shelly Roiger.  "We did a lot of good things against Fredonia but couldn't quite come up with the stop defensively.  The Nazareth match was a great victory for us as we had great balance.  It was a nice way to redeem ourselves after a sloppy loss to them in mid-September.  Our energy and focus was solid throughout the entire match." Against Fredonia, Nyasha Miller led the Saints with eight kills and ten digs, while Liz Grogan and Marta Johann added seven and five kills, respectively.  Jenna Street and Anna Kassab split the setting duties and combined for 25 assists.  Katherine Pierce tallied 15 digs, defensively.  In the afternoon match against Nazareth, Kassab led the Saints to victory with 38 assists, 21 digs and six service aces.  Miller recorded 17 kills and 21 digs, while Pierce had 22 digs.  Grogan added 13 kills and Johann added 10 kills.   

October 28: The St. Lawrence University volleyball team dropped its first match of the Regional Challenge in Rochester, NY.  New York University slipped past the Saints, 3-2, by the scores of 25-12, 16-25, 25-19, 19-25, and 15-11.  The Scarlet and Brown then fell 3-0 to Rochester in the nightcap (25-15, 25-8, 25-22).  Nyasha Miller led the Saints with 18 kills and three aces, while Marta Johann had 10 kills.  Jenna Street tallied 35 assists and 14 digs.  Anna Kassab and Katherine Pierce added 14 and 13 digs, respectively.     The Saints move to 18-15 overall on the season.

October 22: The St. Lawrence University volleyball team snapped its three-game losing skid with a 3-1 victory over RIT in the Liberty League crossover on Saturday in Saratoga Springs, NY.  With the win, the Saints lock up the number three seed in the conference tournament to be held on Nov. 3-4 at Clarkson University.    The Golden Knights topped the league with a 10-2 record, while Skidmore improved to 9-3 with wins over the St. Lawrence and Clarkson, securing the number two seed.  Though Union and Vassar both concluded conference play with a 6-6 record, the Brewers swept the Dutchwomen in both meetings over the season, owning the tiebreaker and clinching the fourth and final spot in the tournament.  St. Lawrence is slated to play Skidmore, while Clarkson will play Vassar in the semifinal round.  Skidmore continued to roll on its impressive six-game win streak, sweeping St. Lawrence 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-11) in the opening match of the day.  Senior co-captain Nyasha Miller led the Saints with 11 kills and eight defensive digs, while first-year student Katy Litka added seven kills.  The Thoroughbreds, who made few errors throughout the three-set match, were led by Mallory Mendelsohn's 31 assists and 10 digs.  Elise Finnerty finished with 10 kills and three blocks. With a playoff berth on the line, the Saints battled hard to a 3-1 victory (25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 28-26) over RIT.  Miller posted a double-double with a match-high 20 kills and 20 digs.  Sophomore setter Anna Kassab dished out 46 assists and added 17 defensive digs.  "We played much more composed against RIT and were able to execute our game plan well," said St. Lawrence Head Coach Shelly Roiger.  "Our victory was a great team effort and our middles did a great job of getting touches on RIT's attacks which put our defense in a position to be successful."  

Three Saints players dive to the floor to save the ball, with Nyasha Miller (10) able to get to the ball first for the save. 
(Eric Foote photo)  Match Gallery

S.L.U.'s Anna Kassab (7) tips the ball at the net for a point.

SUNY Potsdam frontline defenders Samantha Strader (2) from Watertown, NY and Jenna Blujus (10) brace for the spike from SUNY Canton attacker Heather Lottie (17) from Canton, NY.
(Taylor Caswell photo)  Match Gallery

SUNY Potsdam's Liza Fields (Duanesburg, N.Y.) had six aces.

October 29: The SUNY Potsdam volleyball team (19-17) fell to SUNY Geneseo and St. John Fisher by identical 3-0 scores at the St. John Fisher Tri-Match on Saturday afternoon. In the early match against the Blue Knights (17-18), the Bears lost 17-25, 20-25, and 11-25. Sophomore outside hitter Dakota Pruiss (Wallkill, N.Y./Wallkill) led Potsdam with nine kills and eight digs. Sophomore setter Jenna Blujus (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) finished with 21 assists and 20 digs. Senior outside hitter Samantha Strader (Watertown, N.Y./South Jefferson) had five kills and junior libero Jillian Dye (Middletown, N.Y./Minisink Valley) totaled 13 digs. Potsdam fell to the host Cardinals (20-11) by scores of 22-25, 22-25, and 18-25. Blujus added 22 more assists and eight digs and Pruiss finished strong with 10 kills and 10 digs. Strader posted nine kills and Dye had nine digs. “Against Geneseo we weren’t aggressive enough, but we played strong defense,” said Bears Head Coach Steve Pike. “We performed much better against St. John Fisher. We competed hard, but at key moments we didn’t execute.” Pike was pleased with his three seniors in what may have been their final match. “Sam Strader, Allison Metot (Bernhards Bay, N.Y./Central Square), and Jessica Archinal (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) gave everything they had on the court today and played well.” Potsdam will now wait for the ECAC to announce bids to its postseason tournament.

October 25: The SUNY Potsdam volleyball team was defeated by rival Clarkson in four sets. This marked the second time these two teams met this year, with the first being on Sept. 6. The Bears (19-15, 2-6 SUNYAC) showed much improvement from that early-season contest in which the Golden Knights won in three sets. Potsdam found themselves in a hole quickly. Clarkson (26-4, 10-2 Liberty) got off to a quick start and took the first two sets by scores of 25-19 and 25-13. The Bears would battle back and win a back-and-forth third set by a score of 26-24. Sophomore outside hitter Dakota Pruiss sealed the set with one of her eight kills on the evening. Potsdam couldn’t keep the momentum and ultimately dropped the fourth set 25-11. For the match, the Bears were led by senior outside hitter Sam Strader (Watertown, N.Y./South Jefferson) who had nine kills. Sophomore setter Jenna Blujus (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) also contributed 27 assists, 11 digs and three aces. Despite the loss, Coach Steve Pike was happy with what he saw. “We played with a lot of speed and aggression on offense and kept competing,” Pike said. “We made some physical mistakes but we fought through them. We played a very tough team and you can see why they have had a successful season but we I am happy to see us getting better. It was fun tonight.” The loss leaves the Bears one win shy of 20 on the season. The accomplishment is even more impressive considering the team struggled a season ago and managed six wins on the campaign. “We definitely want to win 20 on the year,” said Pike. “It would be a big step. We have improved not only in number of wins, but quality of wins and how we compete.” The Bears will return to action Saturday, Oct. 29 in Rochester, N.Y. Potsdam will compete in a tri-match against Geneseo at 1 p.m. and host St. John Fisher College at 3 p.m. These will be the final two matches of the regular season as the team looks for a strong finish.

October 29: The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team dropped its final two matches of the 2011 season, falling to Union and Baruch in the final day of play at the Skidmore Invitational. In the first match of the day, Plattsburgh lost in three straight sets to Union (21-25, 10-25, 8-25). For Plattsburgh, Theresa Lilly had nine kills and eight digs while Rosi Cummings added 10 kills, 12 digs and two block assists. Kayla Nason led the Cardinals with 13 assists. In Plattsburgh's final match of the season, the Cardinals were topped by Baruch in three sets (22-25, 22-25, 25-27). For Plattsburgh, Rosi Cummings contributed 14 kills, 13 digs, while Kayla Nason added 33 assists and 10 digs. Chryesse Wells picked up a team-high 15 digs. Theresa Lilly was the Cardinals' representative on the Skidmore Invitational All-Tournament Team. This weekend's tournament marked the last weekend of play of Cardinal seniors Chryesse Wells, Hilary Boyea and Andrea Kalter. Plattsburgh finishes the season at 12-21 overall.

October 28: The Plattsburgh State volleyball team dropped its first two matches Friday night at the Skidmore Invitational, losing to New Paltz and Skidmore in three sets. In the first match of the evening, New Paltz topped the Cardinals 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-19). Theresa Lilly had 15 digs to go along with four kills, two total blocks and a service ace. Rosi Cummings added 12 digs and eight kills, while Kayla Nason had 21 assists and Abby Mell recorded three total blocks. Plattsburgh faced the same fate in its second match of the night as Skidmore defeated the Cardinals 3-0 (25-19, 25-8, 25-11). Meghan Clifford recorded 18 assists and Abby Mell finished with four kills and three solo blocks. Andrea Kalter added five digs and one service ace and Theresa Lilly tallied six kills, four digs and one block.

Clarkson's Sara Artus (5) of St. Regis Fall slaps the ball over a pair of SUNY Cortland defenders at the net.  It was the final appearance for the senior and local standout as the Golden Knights fell in a three-set sweep to the Red Dragons 25-20, 25-16, 25-22, in the NCAA New York Regional Semifinals Saturday evening at Alumni Gymnasium. The Golden Knights finished off their season at 29-9 overall, tying their single-season mark for victories (2003). Cortland improved to 41-1 and advances to the NCAA New York Regional Finals against Middlebury College.
(Bob LaRue photo)  Match Gallery

Clarkson's Becca Brabec (6) and Adrienne Walker (11) block a Cortland shot at the net.  For Clarkson, Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, NY) was the top hitter in the match, striking for 13 kills overall. Freshman Becca Brabec (Lemont, IL) had a slow start, but picked up her game in the final two sets to finish with nine kills. Junior Bailey Walker (Centennial, CO) contributed five kills in just eight swings for Clarkson. Lani Durio (Austin, TX) ran the offense with 34 assists, and Adrienne Walker led the always formidable Clarkson serving game with four aces.  

November 11: Freshmen Becca Brabec (Lemont, IL) and Adrienne Walker (Centennial, CO) each posted one of their best matches of the season when the Clarkson University Volleyball team needed them most, as the Golden Knights defeated Nazareth College in four sets, 25-13, 20-25, 25-13, 25-22, in the opening round of the NCAA New York Regional Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium. The Golden Knights moved to 29-8 overall, tying the single-season school mark for victories in the process, and will play regional top-seed Cortland at 6:00 pm on Saturday afternoon, again at Alumni Gymnasium. Nazareth, the champion of the Empire 8, finished its season at 26-13. A feeling-out period began the first set as the two teams were tied 7-7 in the early going, but a strong stretch of serving from Adrienne Walker forced Nazareth into a timeout to catch its collective breath. The break helped a little, as the Golden Flyers got back into the match, but Clarkson scored 11 of the final 12 points of the match to take an easy victory, thanks to a .480 hitting percentage (14 kills-2 errors-25 swings). Too many attack errors swung the second set into Nazareth’s favor. Clarkson had 12 kills, but also had 12 errors, hitting the ball long and wide and also into the Golden Flyers’ block, where they earned three more denials up front. Despite the errors, Clarkson looked ready to close out the second set, but Nazareth scored the final eight points after trailing by three, to take it 25-20. Nazareth’s run ended in the third set, as Clarkson jumped out to a 12-5 advantage after back-to-back aces from Adrienne Walker, pushing Golden Flyers coach Cal Wickens to take a timeout. The break didn’t change the pace, as Walker came through with another ace immediately following the timeout, and Clarkson cruised to a 25-13 victory in set number three. The fourth set saw Clarkson enjoy small advantages in the early going, but the Golden Flyers would not go away and kept pace with the Knights until near the end of the match. Clarkson led by four points, 22-18, late, but Nazareth crawled back to within striking distance in the waning points before the Golden Knights finally close them out 25-22. "Obviously it feels great to advance in the NCAAs," said Clarkson head coach Johan Dulfer. "I thought we came out with a lot of energy tonight and we maintained it throughout the match. It was a real team effort. I thought the difference in the match was our serving and our aggressiveness in general. This is a very proud day for Clarkson Volleyball. Brabec finished with a match-high 15 kills and had only four errors in 31 swings to lead Clarkson, while Walker posted eight kills, but also had eight errors, in 23 swings. However, Walker was huge on the serving line and at the net, producing four aces and six total blocks, including four solo denials. Senior Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, NY) added in 11 kills and was just one dig shy of a double-double with nine. Sophomore setter Lani Durio (Austin, TX) ran the offense with 37 assists, and Erika Chin (Katy, TX) came through with 19 digs to go along with her four service aces. Nazareth had a balanced offensive attack, which was led by Chelsea Beacher with nine kills and 10 digs. Amy Johnson added in eight kills, and also had five block assists. Overall, Nazareth had 16 blocks, all of them as assists, to keep the Clarkson offense honest up front. Aubrey Cooke came through with 27 assists and Brittany Crocetti led the team defensively with 13 digs.

November 5: With plenty of momentum shifting against it after dropping two straight sets, Skidmore College outlasted the Clarkson University Volleyball team in the fifth set to earn the Liberty League Championship, 3-2, Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium. The Golden Knights dropped to 28-8 overall while Skidmore College improved to 27-8. The victory (25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 15-8) was Skidmore's first conference championship since the league changed its title in 2004, while Clarkson was vying for its second title in three seasons. Both teams will now await the NCAA Tournament committee to find out if they will be selected to participate in this year's championship tournament. The Liberty League does not have an automatic bid for its conference tournament until 2013. Saturday's championship match was an odd one at times, as Clarkson came out with a solid advantage in the first set, 16-12. However, Elise Finnerty was able to get a kill for Skidmore to pull the Thoroughbreds back within three, and then Mallory Mendelsohn amazingly served out the set for a 25-16 victory as the Knights searched for answers at the break. In the second set, Clarkson had a small advantage midway through the game, but Skidmore once again rallied to take a 25-23 victory off a block from Corinne Palmer and Mendelsohn. However, Clarkson had found its rhythm on offense and started to take control, winning a pair of sets back-to-back by the score of 25-20, highlighted by a .432 hitting percentage in the fourth set (19-3-37). That momentum could not be carried into the fifth and deciding set, though, as Clarkson hit -.158 with eight errors. I thought this was a final worthy of our league this year," Clarkson head coach Johan Dulfer said. "I’m very proud of how we battled our way back into the game. Obviously it’s not fun to lose, but I’m sure our young team will learn from this and carry this experience over into future years. There is always a silver lining; we put ourselves into the position that we wanted to be at the end of the year. We did everything right, but forgot to execute when we had our chances in the first two sets and then later in the fifth. Sometimes the difference between winning and losing is miniscule, but we are looking forward to finding out if our season continues next week." Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, NY) had 17 kills and nine digs in the match for Clarkson, and was selected to the Liberty League Championships All-Tournament team. Freshman Adrienne Walker added in 15 kills and Megan Mahon (Irvine, CA) came through with 14 kills, hitting .423 for the match. Sophomore setter Lani Durio had 49 assists, six digs and six aces (with 10 total aces over the course of two matches), and was also picked for the All-Tournament team. Erika Chin (Katy, TX) led Clarkson with 18 digs. For Skidmore, Kelley Vershbow was selected as the tournament's MVP with 19 kills (and 39 total in the two-day event), though she did have 10 errors. Also making the All-Tournament team were Corinne Palmer, who had 15 kills against only a single error in 29 attempts to go along with five total blocks, and Mallory Mendelsohn, who produced 45 assists and four aces on Saturday. Elise Finnerty also added 14 kills and four blocks for the Thoroughbreds. Sam Friedman topped Skidmore with 16 digs. Joining the five members from Skidmore and Clarkson on the All-Tournament team were Marie Petrie (Vassar College) and Nyasha Miller (St. Lawrence).
 

Clarkson's Lani Durio (3) springs up to set the spike for teammate Adrienne Walker (11). Despite plenty of momentum shifting against the Golden Knights after dropping two straight sets, Skidmore College outlasted the Clarkson University Volleyball team in the fifth set to earn the Liberty League Championship 3-2.  (Bob LaRue photo)  Match Gallery

Clarkson University’s Sara Artus (5) spikes the ball past the attempted blocks of St. Lawrence’s Katy Litka (11) and Marta Johann (15).  (Ryan Bercume photo)  Match Gallery

SUNY Canton's Marie Mason (2) slaps a sideways shot across the net against SUNY Potsdam's Jenna Blujis (10).
(Taylor Caswell photo)  Match Gallery

Joust at the net in SUNY Canton's match at Potsdam.

October 29: The SUNY Canton women’s volleyball team ran their win streak to five matches with a pair of straight set wins over the University of Maine at Fort Kent and the University of Maine at Presque Isle. The Roos (17-14) used a balanced attack in their opening match against Fort Kent in winning 25-13, 25-17 and 25-14.  Five players had at least three kills led by Amanda Brown (Massena, N.Y.) and Mackenzie Mynter (Churchville, N.Y.) who nailed seven apiece.  Mynter also had 26 assists, seven digs and five service aces.  Caitlin Grimshaw (Adams, N.Y.) added six kills.  Marie Mason (Pulaski, N.Y.)) had five digs and four kills.  Heather Byron (Merrill, N.Y.) collected a team-high eight digs and Heather Lottie (Canton, N.Y.) added three kills and four assists. In the second match the Roos dominated Presque Isle in the first two sets winning 25-8 and 25-7.  In the third set the Owls went ahead 10-7 before the Roos re-focused and rallied to close out the match with a 25-15 win. Mynter distributed 16 more assists and also had four aces and three kills.  Lottie led the team with five kills.  Kelley Drollette (Cadyville, N.Y.) made seven digs.  Brown added four kills, Mason had three kills and two digs, and Grimshaw contributed five aces and two kills. Fort Kent swept Presque Isle in the first game of the tri-match earlier 3-0.  The three teams face each other again on Sunday as the two Maine schools will play at 10 a.m., the Roos play Presque Isle at noon and Fort Kent at 2 p.m.

October 22: The SUNY Canton women’s volleyball team captured both matches in a tri-match at Cazenovia College on Saturday as they beat the host Wildcats 3-0 and Morrisville State College 3-0. The Roos (13-14) have now won three straight matches and have only dropped one set during that stretch. In the win over Morrisville Mackenzie Mynter (Churchville, N.Y.) had 26 assists, nine digs and seven kills.  Jessica Reynolds (Oakville, Ontario) added seven kills and eight digs.  Amanda Brown (Massena, N.Y.) nailed seven kills and collected two blocks and Shiloh Bourgeois (Keesville, N.Y.) added five kills. Mynter had 26 assists, 12 digs, six kills, and three aces against Cazenovia.  Marie Mason (Pulaski, N.Y.) had nine digs and six kills.  Heather Byron (Merrill, N.Y.) had 11 digs and Brown added six kills. The Roos return home next weekend to face the University of Maine at Fort Kent and the University of Maine at Presque Isle in a pair of tri-matches on Saturday, Oct. 29 and Sunday, Oct. 30.

October 21: The SUNY Canton women’s volleyball team beat Morrisville State College 3-1 Friday night in Morrisville. The Roos (13-14) won 25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 25-15. Jessica Reynolds (Oakville, Ontario) and Mackenzie Mynter (Churchville, N.Y.) each had a double-double as Reynolds collected 13 kills and 11 digs and Mynter had 31 assists and 11 digs.  Amanda Brown (Massena, N.Y.) added seven kills, Heather Byron (Merrill, N.Y.) had 10 digs and Cassandra Gray (Watertown, N.Y.) chipped in with eight digs.