Courtesy of UR Athletics
For the UR women’s volleyball team, Tuesday was a big day: the team was featured on “Good Day Rochester,” Fox Rochester’s morning program. Reporter Hannah Welker visited the team in the Palestra, learning a thing or two from the ‘Jackets, who are working hard as they prepare to host the UAA Conference tournament this weekend.
Even while in the media spotlight, the team continues to put together solid performances. The ‘Jackets fought hard this past weekend at the NY Regional Challenge, where they narrowly fell to Fredonia State before wrapping up the weekend with a 3-0 win against Montclair State.
In this win, Rochester won the first set comfortably with a score of 25-17, and was able to ride the momentum throughout—sealing the second and third sets 25-22 and 25-21, respectively. Senior Emma Gira and junior Nina Baek led the way with seven kills each, with Jennie Ford not far behind with five of her own. Gira also added a team-high six blocks.
In addition to the team victory, Gira was also honored individually for her exceptional play in the tournament, being named to the All-Tournament Team.
The ‘Jackets also had seven service aces in the match; junior Aimee Kohler was the leader with three, followed by fellow junior Meghan Connor, with two.
The victory gives the 15-15 ‘Jackets some nice momentum as they move into the UAA Championships, which will be held in Rochester. The team will welcome the seven other schools in the conference, including Emory, currently the top-ranked program in Division III.
The sixth-seeded ‘Jackets will begin play on Friday, Nov. 6 at 2:00 p.m. in the Palestra, when they take on number-three seed Case Western Reserve. The second round of play will be on Friday, and the final round will take place Saturday. In the finals—which will begin at 1 p.m.—an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament will be up for grabs.
Shapiro is a member of the class of 2016.
