By Akshay Kriplani Staff writer
With a tough loss against Johns Hopkins behind them, the Susquehanna volleyball team headed to Union for the Union College Invitational on Sept. 9 and 10.
The River Hawks played Williams and the host, Union, on Sept. 9, beating both teams 3-0.
The first match the River Hawks played in the tournament was against Williams. Williams was 1-0 coming into the match. The River Hawks beat them 3-0 with the scores of each set being 25-21, 25-11 and 25-12 respectively.
On the offensive side, junior outside hitter Morgan Lowe led all players with 14 kills while senior setter Erin Byrne added six kills and four digs. Defensively, senior setter Alyssa Chiodo racked up 18 digs while freshman setter Kasey Bost added 15. Senior middle hitter Leana Carvin had five blocks in the match.
The River Hawks followed up that performance with a 3-0 win over Union. The set scores were 25-18, 25-11 and 25-23 respectively.
Lowe once again led all players with 11 kills while racking up six digs. Byrne was next with 10 kills.
On the defensive end, senior setter Maggie O’Hearn led all players with 30 assists. Chiodo also reeled in 11 digs.
Entering her last year, Byrne was happy with the way the team performed.
“It was nice to see that we can play like we know how, meaning as a team and one unit,” she said.
In the first two sets, the River Hawks came out and beat Union 25-18 and 25-11 respectively. However, the third set was a different story.
Susquehanna had to climb back from a late deficit. The River Hawks were down 23-16 late in the set and it looked like the match might go to a fourth set, but the team did not see it that way. Susquehanna rallied to win nine consecutive points to close out the set 25-23 and the match 3-0.
“The team showed a lot of strength both physical and mental. Coming off a tough loss against Hopkins at home we felt this weekend would be a defining moment for the rest of the season. It was good to see them come together,” Coach Tom Kuipo said.
Susquehanna was also in action on Wednesday, Sept. 14, when the River Hawks defeated Franklin & Marshall 3-0, for their fifth straight victory.
Lowe and Byrne each ended the game with eight kills, while Caroline Beohm tallied 11 digs.
Susquehanna won each set by at least nine points, by scores of 25-16, 25-11 and 25-16.
In the first set, the River Hawks were down 3-2 early but they proceeded to go on a 8-3 run to put themselves ahead 11-5. The lead never dipped below four points for the rest of the set.
In the second set, Franklin & Marshall put up a tougher fight, tying the game at six early on in the set. Susquhanna took the lead after that, and held on for the rest of the set.
In the final set, Susquehanna was down 7-5 early, but after a Byrne kill that tied the game at eight, Susquehanna never looked back. They closed out the match on a Dipolmats service error.
With the win, Susquehanna improved to 7-2 on the season. The River Hawks also handed Franklin & Marshall its first loss of the season.
This match was the first of a five-game home stand for Susquehanna.
The River Hawks are back in action on Friday, Sept. 16, when they host Nazareth in the first game of the Hampton Inn Classic at 5 p.m.
