In response to last week’s American League Championship Series, baseball fans across the country were saying, “it’s time to bring out the brooms!. The UR women’s volleyball team apparently got the message, as they completed the season sweep of the SUNY Fredonia Blue Devils 3-0 and 3-1 back on Sept. 16.
The Yellowjackets improved to 18-8 on the season and are in fifth place in the incredibly tough University Athletic Association. But this week’s victory only helped their cause as they prepare for playoff time.
The Yellowjackets absolutely dominated the Blue Devils 3-0 in a game that matched wit with power. The ‘Jackets took the match, 30-15, 30-22, 30-22, before an estimated crowd of 200 at Dods Hall on the Fredonia campus.
Senior outside hitter Susan Johnson led the swarm with 20 kills, 15 digs and two blocks, while senior setter Sam Carr put up 26 assists, nine digs and one block in the match.
But the attack didn’t stop there. Junior Kaitlyn Gorczynski chipped in five kills and 12 digs, and freshman Dana Hilfinger had five kills and three blocks.
The Blue Devils were led by senior middle hitter Stephanie DeGolier and sophomore outside hitters Amy Bertrando with eight kills each but the team could not overcome the ‘Jackets’ offensive outburst.
On Oct. 14 and 15, the Yellowjackets played the second set of UAA round robin games in Chicago.
The first day of play was not kind to UR, as they came up on the losing end of both their contests.
The first loss came to Case Western Reserve University by a 3-2 score. The ‘Jackets dropped the first two games but came back with two close wins to even the score at 2-2. Case dominated the final game, however, to come away with the victory.
Johnson led the ‘Jackets with 40 kills and added 27 digs. Carr finished with 34 assists and 29 digs for UR.
Later that day, the Yellowjackets were overpowered by New York University, losing by scores of 27-30, 21-30, 18-30. Sophomore Jessica Rasmussen had eight digs in the match.
On Sunday, UR fared better, splitting their two games. They lost to second-ranked Washington University in St. Louis, 3-0, but came back to defeat the University of Chicago Maroons 3-2.
Johnson was solid once again for the ‘Jackets, tallying 26 digs, 21 kills and three blocks in the win against Chicago. Rasmussen had 18 digs and Gorczynski added 14 digs and two blocks.
After beating Nazareth College yesterday by a 3-0 score, UR is headed for the big stage – the playoffs. Coincidentally, they will be playing Nazareth in the first round.
The Yellowjackets will enter the New York State Championship, hosted by Skidmore College, as the fifth seed. This year marks their fifth consecutive playoff berth, and this is their highest seeding in that span.
Wang is a member of the class of 2009.Additional reporting by Alex Moeller.
