Photos By Connor Main
By Marquis Frias, Assistant Sports Editor
Career-high performances from Kyndall Mason and Addison Dodge led the volleyball team to a 3-2 victory over Moravian in the quarterfinals of the Landmark Conference playoffs Tuesday.
Fans at O.W. Houts Gymnasium were treated to a high-scoring playoff thriller that saw extra volleyball being played in the first two sets and a fifth set to decide who will move on to the semifinals. Both teams combined for a total of 231 points in the match.
“I thought we did really well staying disciplined and staying with it… five sets is a lot but we all worked together and managed to pull out the win,” Mason said.
The match started off with probably the most dramatic first set the River Hawks (12-20) and Greyhounds (14-14) have played all year. After Susquehanna jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, the Greyhounds would eventually come back and tie the score at 7 apiece.
What would follow was an intense stretch of back-and-forth action that saw no team lead by more than two points. In the first set alone, there were 17 ties and nine lead changes. The tight contest led to extra volleyball being played, with no team willing to keep their foot off the gas.
With the score tied at 32-31, the River Hawks would score three straight points to steal the first set from Moravian 34-32. Mason totaled 7 kills in the first set alone, with Stella Robinson also recording 6 kills.
The second set also saw the two teams trading points in the early going after Moravian came back from another early Susquehanna lead. Eventually, the River Hawks found themselves up 13-11 and would go on the first big run of the match, scoring nine of the next 11 points.
The River Hawks would get all the way to 24 points in the second set, until the Greyhounds went on a seven-point run themselves to come back in the set and tie the score at 24 apiece.
The extra volleyball in set two didn’t last as long as set one, however it was still as dramatic as the first as Moravian was able to complete the late comeback with a 29-27 set two win.
After a late collapse in the second frame, the River Hawks made sure to take care of business in set three. With the score tied 11-11, Susquehanna would finish the set by scoring 14 of the next 19 points in the set. A 12-2 run in the middle of the set led to Susquehanna winning set three 25-16 and taking a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set featured the most back-and-forth play out of any of the sets, with both teams trading points from start to finish. No team led by more than three points in the set, however that lead stayed with Moravian for the majority of the set.
After a kill from Robinson that tied the score at 22 apiece, the Greyhounds would score three of the next four points to beat Susquehanna 25-23 and force a fifth set.
After the two teams continued to trade points early in the fifth set, Susquehanna would completely take over the match.
With the score tied 3-3, the River Hawks would go on an 11-point run that saw contribution from everyone. Mason had four service aces in the fourth set alone, while Robinson and Addison Dodge combined for three kills.
The rally in the final frame led to the River Hawks defeating Moravian 15-5, and taking the match 3-2.
Mason led the way for the River Hawks, stuffing the stat sheet with 25 points, 20 kills, four service aces, 27 digs which were all career-highs for the senior.
“I just wanted to ball out,” Mason said. “This is the playoffs and you have to give it your all, and this is also my senior year so I wanted to leave a mark and have a good time.”
Dodge’s career-high night saw her total 21.5 points, 17 kills and eight total blocks.
“It was super fun and hectic,” Dodge said. “We just balled out because we need our seniors to play another game.”
It is SU’s first victory in the Landmark tournament since 2023.
The River Hawks will play at Juniata in the semifinals Thursday. The Eagles are the No. 1 seed in the tournament and the No. 10 ranked team nationally. Juniata went undefeated and won the NCAA title last season.
Juniata eliminated Susquehanna in the semifinals in 2022 and 2023, while both schools have met in the championship 11 different times.
“This win gives us a lot of motivation for the next game,” Mason said. “We’re all going in hungry… I’m really excited to play them and [the team] is too.”
