ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Brockport volleyball team took home a thrilling five set victory at RIT to increase their win streak to 18 straight. With the win the squad is now 28-2 on the season.
 
After dropping the first set, Brockport came out firing in the second, taking an early 7-1 lead. DeAnna Ortiz-Whittemore got things started, killing the first ball of the set, before Maddy Taylor extended the lead by serving two straight aces. The Tigers would make a late run to bring themselves within four late, but a kill from Kelly Waters gave the Golden Eagles the set, evening the match at 1-1.
 
The team needed to take a different route to victory in the third set, as they fell behind 8-1 early on. They brought it back to within two when Emily Flohr served five straight points that were capped off by a service ace which closed the gap to 9-7. They then took the lead for good at the 12-11 mark when Ortiz-Whittemore and Noelle Poloncarz came up with a big block on the RIT right side hitter. Sam Holdredge took control late in the set, killing two of the final three balls for the Golden Eagles in a set they would win 25-21.
 
The fourth set was a back and forth ordeal that required extra points before RIT finally pulled ahead by two. Brockport utilized another late run to nearly steal the set away after trailing by five or more for a majority of the stanza.
 
The late run did give them momentum heading into the fifth set however, as Brockport was able to close out their opponent 15-11 to earn their 28th win of the season. With the match within two points at 13-11, Kathleen Irwin stepped up to the plate and served two straight aces to close things out and keep the win streak alive for Brockport.
 
Irwin ended the day with five service aces, which is a new season high for the junior defensive specialist. Flohr (2), Maddy Taylor (2), Jamie Schlesinger (2), Poloncarz (2), and Holdredge (1) each contributed to the team's 14 service aces as well.
 
Ortiz-Whittemore had a huge day offensively, killing a career-high 17 balls while swinging at a .262 clip. Holdredge, Waters, and Brianna Richardson were all factors on offense as well, as the trio combined for 29 kills.
 
Richardson helped lead the team to seven total blocks, as she assisted in two and added two solo blocks as well. Ortiz Whittemore (3 block assists), and Waters (2 solo blocks) were also influential in that category.
 
Defensively, Irwin stepped up in this contest as she dug up 21 balls from the libero position. Taylor and Holdredge also had double-digit digs with 11 apiece while Poloncarz and Aimee Spilman combined for 17.
 
Poloncarz dished out another 46 assists in this contest, and now ranks second in the SUNYAC conference with 10.47 assists-per-set.
 
Brockport will play three home games this weekend in the Golden Eagle Invitational to prepare them for next weekend when they host the SUNYAC tournament.
 
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