Houghton, NY - The SUNY Brockport women's volleyball team took care of business on the road Saturday, sweeping Houghton 3-0 to clinch a postseason spot. The Golden Eagles earned the Empire 8 playoff berth with a decisive 25-19, 25-18, 25-12 victory at the Nielsen Center.
Brockport improved to 11-11 overall and 5-6 in the Empire 8, while handing Houghton just its second home sweep in conference play. The win locked up Brockport's place in the Empire 8 Tournament next week.
It was an efficient, all-around performance for the Golden Eagles, who hit .280 as a team with 38 kills on 93 attempts, while holding Houghton to .054 hitting.
Senior outside hitter Luba Butcher led the attack with a match-high 13 kills on .435 hitting and added 2 digs and 2 blocks for 14.5 points. Kaylee Dickerson-Holly followed with 10 kills at a .375 clip, and Ellie Cusmano was nearly unstoppable in the middle with 9 kills on 18 swings with just one error to hit .444.
Setter Kaitlyn Jewett orchestrated the offense with 22 assists and added 5 digs, 5 aces and 5 points. Ava Baty chipped in 8 assists and 3 digs from the service line, while Ana Parella contributed 4 kills, 2 aces and 3 blocks for 8 points.
Brockport was strong from the service line and at the net all afternoon, finishing with 12 aces and 5 total blocks. The back row was anchored by 38 digs, with Grace Ippolito posting a team-high 9 digs.
The Golden Eagles never trailed big in any set:
Set 1: Brockport 25-19 - Brockport hit .267 with 13 kills to pull away late. The Golden Eagles sided out consistently to secure the opening frame despite Houghton hitting .160.
Set 2: Brockport 25-18 - Despite hitting just .036 as a team in the second, Brockport used pressure serving to force Houghton into 12 attack errors (-.176). The Golden Eagles closed on a run to take a 2-0 lead.
Set 3: Brockport 25-12 - Brockport saved its best for last, hitting a match-best .486 with 17 kills and no errors on 35 attempts to close out the sweep.
Locked in as the No. 8 seed for the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament, the Brockport Golden Eagles are set to take on No. 1 St. John Fisher on Saturday, November 7th. The time has yet to be announced for the first round matchup.
