After closing out the month of September with two tough losses in University Athletic Association play, the UR volleyball team could have lost its confidence and carried the disappointment into their match against Elmira College on Sunday.
However, they did just the opposite, taking all three games from the Soaring Eagles. They followed that performance up with a tight 3-2 win against SUNY Geneseo on Wednesday. The wins improve the Yellowjackets’ record to 16-5.
The first game was a nail biter, but the ‘Jackets prevailed with a 30-26 win. Elmira showed poise by coming back strong in the second game, but UR squeaked out another game win, this time by a score of 30-28.
The Yellowjackets took control in the third game and cruised to a 30-17 win that gave them a 3-0 victory over the Soaring Eagles.
“The team was ready for a good win against Elmira,” senior setter Samantha Carr said. “We wanted to play well together and especially improve our passing and defense, which we did.”
Senior Susan Johnson paced the Yellowjackets offensively, recording 25 kills and 18 digs. Carr added 30 assists, 17 digs and five kills.
Also shining for UR was junior Kaitlyn Gorczynski, who turned in a great defensive performance with 23 digs.
“Kaitlyn Gorczynski played great defense in the Elmira match,” Carr said. She came up with a lot of great digs.”
The match against Geneseo was much closer. After Geneseo won the opening game, UR came storming back and took the next two games for a 2-1 lead.
With a chance to close out the match, the ‘Jackets played hard in game four and earned a 29-27 lead. Geneseo won the next four points, however, and stole the game away from UR.
In the decisive fifth game, the Yellowjackets took the lead early and never looked back. They won the game by a score of 15-12.
Gorczynski once again anchored the defense with 27 digs and one block. Sophomore Jessica Rasmussen chipped in 13 digs for the ‘Jackets.
This weekend, the team travels to Chicago for another set of important league games.
Moeller can be reached at amoeller@campustimes.org.
