BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The Brockport women's volleyball team moved into the SUNYAC championship game with their thrilling four set victory over Geneseo on Friday in front of a packed Vlogianitis Gym crowd. For the second straight year, the team will square off with SUNY New Paltz in the championship match for a chance to play in the NCAA tournament.
The team came out firing in the opening set, hopping out to a 7-0 lead behind two service aces from
Sam Holdredge. The remainder of the set was much of the same, as Brockport continued to pour it on, winning the frame by a margin of 25-7.
After a back-and-forth beginning to the second, the Golden Eagles pulled ahead once again behind three kills from
Kelly Waters that gave the team a 14-8 lead. That lead would never shrink, as Brockport took the second set 25-15 to take a commanding two sets to none lead.
The third and fourth frames were when things got more interesting, as Geneseo made a late surge in the third to force extra points and eventually take it, 28-26, closing the gap to 2-1 and putting some pressure on the Eagles. The team responded, making a late comeback of their own in the fourth to take the set (27-25) and the match.
The middle blocker duo of Waters and
Brianna Richardson came up huge for Brockport, as they combined for eleven kills in the fourth set. Richardson used the energy from the crowd in Vlogianitis gym to secure the final two points for Brockport, blocking a Geneseo attack and then killing a ball off a
Noelle Poloncarz set end the match.
The junior finished second on the team with kills (14), hitting at a .379 clip, and was a force on the block, stopping two by herself and assisting in a season-high seven more. Leading the team in kills was
Emma Stoltz, who continues to thrive from the outside, killing 16 balls on the night. Waters and
Sam Holdredge were next in the kills department, combining for 20 and each swinging at a .350+ clip.
Kathleen Irwin led the team in both service aces (3), and digs (29) from the libero position.
Aimee Spilman and
Maddy Taylor were also key defensively, digging up 13 and 11 balls respectively.
Poloncarz had 14 digs on the day to go with her 50 assists, three block assists, and service ace. The Orchard Park, N.Y. native continues to impress this season after being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team earlier today.
The championship match against New Paltz tomorrow will take place at 4 p.m. in Jim and John Vlogianitis Gym.
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