Photo by Kelsey Rogers
By Dustin Waleff, Asst. Sports Editor
The River Hawks historic volleyball season came to an end in the second round of the 2019 Division 3 NCAA Tournament, as the River Hawks fell in five sets to Stevens Institute of Technology 3-2 on Nov. 16 at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.
Susquehanna entered the NCAA tournament as a team who received an at-large bid, as they were coming off a loss to Juniata in the Landmark Conference Championship.
Sophomore middle hitter Kody Dillon said, “We can’t be too hype, or cocky, which is how we acted entering into the championship against Juniata. We have to act like we have been there before.”
On Nov. 15, the River Hawks picked up their first ever NCAA Tournament victory, with a straight set 3-0 sweep over Westminster College.
The first set of the first-round matchup was a back and forth affair early on, as the Titans and River Hawks were tied at 12.
With the score tied the River Hawks used a 13-6 run to close out the first set, to take it 25-18.
The second set was all River Hawks as they won the set 25-15, notching 18 kills along the way in the set, including six from junior Sydney Portale who notched her 1000th career kill in the match.
The third set started out much like the first set did, as it was hotly contested, with the River Hawks using another big run, this time 11-6, to put the Titans to bed 3-0.
In the decisive third set, the River Hawks were led by senior Lindsey Pugh who notched 13 assists to become the single season assists leader at Susquehanna.
“It was an incredible feeling. To reach a career milestone in that venue in the NCAA tournament was an amazing moment, and it was so great to have my family in the stands as well,” Portale said.
In the second round, the River Hawks faced off against the Ducks from Stevens Institute of Technology.
In the first set, the River Hawks got off to a slow start, and were unable to respond in the opening set, as the Ducks took it 25-9.
However, in the second set, the River Hawks were ready to battle, as they came out fighting and were able to take it 25-21 behind 17 kills as a team, evening the match at one set a piece.
Susquehanna made some critical errors in the third set, as the Ducks led with another strong set, defeating the River Hawks 25-14.
With their backs against the wall, the River Hawks responded by forcing the deciding fifth set with a strong 25-18 win in the fourth set.
In the fifth set, it was a back and forth tussle, but ultimately the Ducks had just a little more than the River Hawks as Stevens defeated Susquehanna 15-11 to win the match 3-2.
“We broke records and made history within the volleyball program. This season we set the bar high, we now expect to reach every year,” freshman outside hitter Rosina Esposito said. “It was a great season and it didn’t end the way we wanted; we can always achieve higher than what we have.”
It was a season to remember for the River Hawks who made the programs second ever NCAA tournament berth, beat rival Juniata for the first time, was nationally ranked for the first time and racked up a total of 32 wins throughout the season.
The River Hawks had five players receive All-Landmark Conference honors, as juniors Lizzie Herestofa and Portale, along with Esposito, who was the conference Rookie of the Year, were named to the conference’s first team, while Pugh and Dillon were named to the second team, with head coach Kuuipo Tom being named Landmark Conference Coach of the Year.