BROCKPORT N.Y. – The College at Brockport volleyball team kept their unbeaten conference streak alive with a win over SUNY New Paltz Friday evening in the second round of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) playoffs winning 3-0. The Golden Eagles move to 25-8 on the 2017 season, while the Hawks fall to 20-12.
The Green and Gold came out stumbling in the first set as they trailed 3-1, but took control when
Kathleen Irwin stepped into the serve rotation and helped lift the momentum that lead to a nine-point rally to take a 10-3 advantage. Irwin led the way with three aces and
DeAnna Ortiz-Whittemore and
Brianna Richardson added one kill apiece. The Golden Eagles extended their lead late to 21-13 after a four-point run when Ortiz-Whittemore hammered down three kills and
Maddy Taylor added an ace. The Green and Gold closed out the first set with ease by a final score of 25-16.
Both teams went toe-to-toe as the score remained close early in the second set. Brockport fell behind as New Paltz strung together six-run to take a 13-7 advantage, but the Golden Eagles fought back and reclaimed the lead late after a solo block from Richardson and a kill from
Laiken Fox. The second set was closed out on a five-point Golden Eagles streak, with a kill from Richardson and a pair of aces from Irwin giving them a 25-20 win.
Brockport kept rolling in the third set as they jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, and pulled ahead midway through the game 13-8 after three straight kills from Fox, Richardson, and
Jamie Schlesinger. The lead was extended as the Green and Gold pieced together four consecutive points to take a 21-14 advantage. The third set and the match was closed out on a kill from Schlesinger to win by a score of 25-18.
The Golden Eagles were led offensively by Ortiz-Whittemore as she teed up 14 kills on a .379 hitting percentage. Fox and Richardson accounted for 12 kills apiece, with Richardson hitting .556 percent.
Noelle Poloncarz paced the offense as she handed out 38 assists. Irwin had a team-high seven digs and an impressive five aces.
Christa Mickol and Taylor each finished with six digs.
With this win, Brockport advances to the SUNYAC championship where they face Fredonia at 5 p.m. in pursuit of their third straight championship.
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