After defeating Nazareth College, the UR women’s volleyball team traveled to Ithaca College for the New York State Women’s College Athletic Association Championships, where they tied for seventh place.
The match against Nazareth College on Oct. 19 marked the Yellowjackets’ 20th win of the season, with game scores of 30-19, 22-30, 30-23 and 30-21. This win was especially sweet because the game took place during Nazareth’s senior night. Moreover, UR’s head coach Linda Downy formerly coached Nazareth’s volleyball team.
Junior and captain Susan Johnson had 24 kills and 20 digs in the match. Freshman Jessica Rasmussen contributed nine kills, 20 digs and three aces to the tally.
Senior Kate Czarniak killed seven, dug five and aced five. Junior Sam Carr assisted on 39 of the Yellowjackets’ kills and dug out seven of the Golden Flyers’ hits.
Sophomore Jessica Sorrentino dug 12 and killed four, while her fellow sophomore Kaitlyn Gorczynski dug 12 and aced two.
The Yellowjackets went 1-2 at the NYSWCAA Championships, earning them seventh place. The first match was against SUNY Brockport, a team UR fell to 3-1 at the Rochester Institute of Technology Tournament earlier in the season. They defeated the Golden Eagles with game scores of 23-30, 30-23, 30-28 and 30-21.
The win over Brockport, a team seeded No. 7 to UR’s No. 10, was the highlight of the weekend for the Yellowjackets.
“Having lost to them earlier in the season, it was a revenge game,” Czarniak said. “Everyone had very consistent performances, and we worked well as a team.”
Czarniak notched 15 kills and six blocks in the Brockport match. Carr assisted on 47 Yellowjacket kills and had 18 digs. Rasmussen added another 18 digs and four service aces as well. Johnson came through with 21 kills, 21 digs and three blocks. Senior Haley Massa blocked six and Sorrentino killed nine.
After the win over Brockport, the Yellowjackets were playing opposite No. 2 seeded Ithaca College, whom UR split matches with this season. Unfortunately, the Bombers came out on top 30-13, 30-24 and 30-23.
Johnson recorded 12 kills and 17 digs against Ithaca. Carr had 28 assists and 18 digs. Czarniak contributed seven kills, four blocks and 10 digs.
The win against Brockport and the loss to Ithaca put the Jackets in the fifth-place match against No. 3 RIT. UR lost to RIT earlier in the season and this weekend’s match produced a similar outcome. The Yellowjackets fell to the Tigers 30-23, 30-22 and 30-24, therefore tying for seventh place in the tournament.
“Placing seventh is certainly an accomplishment and an indication of how far we’ve come this season,” Czarniak said, who totaled four kills and two blocks against RIT.
Johnson killed seven and dug 12 against the Tigers, while Carr assisted on 15 Yellowjacket kills, dug out nine RIT hits and posted five kills of her own. Sorrentino dug 13 Tiger hits.
The 21-12 Yellowjackets head to Waltham, Mass., this weekend for the University Athletics Association Championships held at Brandeis University.
They are seeded sixth and will face New York University, Emory University and Brandeis on Friday. They look forward to the tournament and hope to come in fifth overall in the conference.
Winn can be reached at mwinn@campustimes.org.
