By Cam Eberly
The volleyball team dominated Lycoming College in straight sets to begin Landmark conference play on Friday at Orlando W. Houts Gymnasium.
It was an exciting atmosphere in the gymnasium on Friday as it was parents’ weekend for the students and referee appreciation night for the volleyball team. The team did not disappoint as they got back into the win column in a big way. The River Hawks came into the match 4-10 due to a tough non-conference schedule and Lycoming came in a formidable 10-1 looking to keep their winning ways going.
The River Hawks commanded the match from the beginning. They won the first game 25-15 after starting off the game on a 7-0 run. After an early timeout, Lycoming then went on to win the next three points of the game, but their momentum was halted by a service error. The River Hawks scored seven out of the next ten points to take a commanding 15-6 lead thanks to two service aces by first-year defensive specialist Callie Wince. Susquehanna went on to win the first game 25-15. They tallied fifteen kills in the set against only six for Lycoming.
Junior Captain Amanda Gore said, “Everything was in our control, we weren’t frantic, we played our game, and it was really simple. We were all in the right mindset and we knew what we had to do,” when asked about the significance of starting off the set with seven straight points.
Lycoming came to play in the second game. Both teams were trading points as the score was 11-9 in favor of Susquehanna after the first 20 points. Sami Kline contributed two of her eight total kills to lead a 5-0 run by Susquehanna to give them a lead that they would keep for the remainder of the set. The River Hawks took the set 25-18 on an Ace by first-year libero Valerie Stoltz.
The River Hawks seemed to sense the sweep as they came out in game three on fire, starting on an 11-2 tear. Lycoming hung tough and did not completely give in, coming as close as four points when the score was 20-16 before Susquehanna rallied off five straight points to take the final set.
In the victory, four River Hawks notched six or more kills. Kline finished with eight, Amanda Gore and Brie Livezey each had seven, and Ryan Rorls had six. Stoltz added ten digs in a phenomenal defensive effort.
