POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Golden Eagles volleyball team swept their second day of competition at the North Country Season Opener, defeating Central College and host St. Lawrence.
Game 1 vs. Central: W (19-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-14, 15-9)
Brockport came back from down two sets to none Saturday morning to defeat Central College in a hard-fought five set match. The win improves their record to 2-1 on the season, while Central falls to 0-3.
After dropping the first two sets, the Golden Eagles came out firing in the third, jumping out to an early 9-3 lead and forcing Central to call timeout. Sophomore
Emma Stoltz provided an offensive spark for Brockport, registering five kills early in the third set. They kept their foot on the gas for the remainder of the set, taking the third by a score of 25-15.
It was more of the same in the fourth set, as Brockport grabbed an early 9-3 lead behind two kills apiece from
Jamie Schlesinger and
Brianna Richardson. They continued the offensive onslaught, forcing Central to use their second timeout after a
Kelly Waters kill that put the Golden Eagles up 14-5. Central would never close the gap, and Brockport took the fourth 25-14.
The fifth and deciding set was a battle, with neither team leading by more than two points until Brockport took a 12-9 lead that they would not relinquish. A diving one-handed dig from
Kathleen Irwin at the 13-9 mark kept the Golden Eagles in a back and forth point that was eventually won when Richardson put the ball down from the middle. A hitting error from Central the next play gave Brockport the 15-9 set victory, completing the comeback.
Schlesinger led the squad in the attacking category during this match, racking up 11 kills to go with her three service aces. Richardson also had eleven kills on the morning, and was joined by Stoltz and
Sam Holdredge in the double digit kills category, each of whom recorded ten.
Kathleen Irwin dug up 22 balls to lead the Golden Eagles, while
Noelle Poloncarz had a season-high 49 assists.
Game 2 vs. St. Lawrence: W (25-17, 25-15, 25-21)
The Golden Eagles secured a weekend record of 3-1 with their straight sets victory over St. Lawrence, while the Saints fell to 0-4.
Richardson, who led the SUNYAC in hitting percentage last season, was extremely consistent in this matchup, hitting at a .529 clip, while recording ten kills to just one error. Holdredge backed her up in the attacking category with her team leading 16 kills.
Coach
Steve Pike was pleased with the offensive effort he got from the entire team.
"Emma (Stoltz) came off the bench swinging really well in the first match," noted Pike. "That combined with our middles playing very well really opened things up for all our hitters to get opportunities and make things happen."
Schlesinger once again filled out her stat sheet, recording seven kills, 13 digs, four service aces, and an assist. Irwin and
Maddy Taylor each had service aces as well, and picked up 13 and nine digs, respectively.
Brockport dominated almost every aspect of the game, besting the Saints in points, kills, aces, assists, and digs.
Volleyball has their first home contest of the season on Tuesday, when Division II Roberts Wesleyan comes to Jim and John Vlogianitis Gym for a matchup beginning at 7 p.m.
"Hopefully we'll have a lot of people come out for the home opener," said Pike. "We're going to play hard and it'll be a fun atmosphere, so I encourage everyone to come check us out."
Be sure to stay up to date on all your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.
