By Nicole Hauck
Staff Writer
The Susquehanna women’s volleyball went 1–1 against Juniata College and Catholic University on Saturday, Sept. 29 in O.W. Houts Gymnasium in Selinsgrove.
The River Hawks lost their first game to nationally-ranked Juniata 3–0 but beat Catholic 3–0.
The River Hawks worked specifically hard in practices preparing for Juniata. The Golden Eagles currently hold a record of 11–3 while the River Hawks 11–7 record.
During the Juniata versus Susquehanna match, there were multiple game leaders. Those leaders included, freshman outside hitter Brooke Lacesa and outside/right side hitter Riley O’Dowd, sophomore defensive specialist Lizzie Herestofa, and juniors middle hitter Hannah Lyons and setter Lindsey Pugh.
Lacesa led the River Hawks with eight kills, O’Dowd and Lyons had seven each. Pugh led the offense with 25 assists while Herestofa led the defense with 17 digs.
“We are obviously upset over the loss, that is a given. Sometimes the nerves can really set in when it comes to playing against such a well– known team,” captain and junior defense specialist, Kasey Bost said. “But we need to keep growing as a team and learn from that game and reflect on our performance and play better no matter who is the other side of the court.”
Juniata beat the River Hawks with set scores of 29– 27, 25–11 and 25–19.
The River Hawks day started to turn around in the late afternoon when the match versus Catholic began. Susquehanna took a big win in three sets (25–20, 25–20 and 26–24).
During the Catholic game, the River Hawks had a total of 46 kills and 43 assists. Lacesa and Lyons led the way again with 12 kills each. Lacesa also recorded two blocks and Lyon had three. Sophomore right side hitter Sydney Portale finished with seven kills and two blocks for Susquehanna. Pugh added 37 assists to the team total of 43.
The River Hawks also had six aces during their win. The defensive players Bost and Herestofa recorded two aces each, as well as freshman middle/outside hitter Kody Dillon earned two.
“The win against Catholic was a game much earned. It showed all our hard work and helped prove to our team that our practices are very important,” Bost said. “We came back hard and stuck to the volleyball we all know so well and followed our game plan. Our goal every game is to get a win done together and collectively as a team.”
“We have very strong girls on our team and we plan on pushing them as hard as we can as a coaching staff. Everyday will work to be better than the last. We will come to perform in the next game,” head coach Kuuipo Tom said.
The volleyball team also picked up a 3–0 win on the road against Moravian on Wednesday, Oct. 3.
The mid-week victory was also the second Landmark Conference victory for the team this season.
Susquehanna took the set scores in the match 25–13, 25–21, 25–21. Lyons added 14 kills and Pugh had 35 assists. The Greyhounds were close to picking up a set win in both the second and third sets, but the River Hawks were able to close out both of them.
Herestofa would end the game and pick up the win for Susquehanna on a service ace in the third set.
Susquehanna returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 6 when they travel to Radnor, Pa to face Wesley College and Cabrini and Sunday, Oct. 7 when they travel to Glenside, Pa to face Johns Hopkins.