By Mike Henken Staff writer
The Susquehanna women’s volleyball team suffered a disappointing 3-0 loss to Clarkson in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Nov. 11 at SUNY Brockport in New York.
The match was a rematch, as the two teams met back on Oct. 29. Susquehanna got the best of Clarkson in that meeting, besting them 3-0.
In the previous match, the River Hawks were led by senior outside hitter Marykate Sherkness who had 12 kills and senior setter Maggie O’Hearn who had 37 assists.
In rematch things did not go as well for Susquehanna. In the first set, the River Hawks went down 6-3 early before scoring five unanswered points, capped off by a serving ace by senior defensive specialist Corrine Eidle.
The serving ace was followed by a kill from junior outside hitter Morgan Lowe to give Susquehanna the lead.
Clarkson then tied the game up at nine before Susquehanna went on another run to take a 20-15 lead. The River Hawks couldn’t close out the match, however, as Clarkson scored seven unanswered points to take over 23-21.
Another kill from Lowe knotted the game up at 24 late in the set to send the set to extra points.
The two teams then battled it out before a Clarkson kill ended the set and gave Clarkson a 34-32 victory.
Susquehanna got off to a strong start in the second set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Clarkson then took over, however, grabbing a 7-5 lead before a kill from senior setter Erin Byrne followed by a serving ace from defensive specialist Kasey Bost tied the match at eight.
The two teams then went back-and-forth before Clarkson finished off the set with a 27-25 win.
The final set saw the River Hawks trail 20-8 early on before the team went on a 14-2 run to tie the set at 22 on a kill from Sherkness.
Clarkson, however, controlled the action for the remainder of the set, picking up a 25-23 win.
Lowe led the Susquehanna team with 23 kills, while tallying 11 digs to earn a double-double. Byrne had 13 kills of her own, while Sherkness added 11.
O’Hearn tallied 43 assists and added 16 digs for a double-double on the game. Senior defensive specialist Alyssa Chiodo totaled 15 digs of her own and freshman outside hitter Caroline Beohm added 10.
Clarkson was led by junior outside hitter Rachel Aird who put down 14 kills against the River Hawks.
Sophomore setter Jillian Saenz kept feeding the points to her team, racking up 45 assists on the day, and freshman defensive specialist Kate Isaksen delivered 26 digs.
After defeating Susquehanna, Clarkson suffered the same fate they dealt the River Hawks, falling 3-1 to Emory in the next round of the single-elimination tournament.
Despite the loss, the River Hawks finished off an improbable tournament season with a 31-8 overall record, which marks the winningest season in program history.
The team will graduate six seniors before returning to the court for the 2017 season.
Byrne was named to the 2016 American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III All America Honorable Mention team following the loss. This is the second time Byrne has been honored with a spot on the honorable mention team.
