By Evin Caswell, Contributing Writer
The Susquehanna women’s volleyball team went undefeated at the Randolph-Macon Invitational in Ashland, Va. this past weekend, as junior right-side hitter Sydney Portale was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Susquehanna entered the invitational with a record of 3-1 on Sept. 6. Thanks to 10 kills from Portale and a game high 23 digs from junior Lizzie Herestofa, the River Hawks were able to sweep Randolph-Macon 3-0.
Susquehanna tallied 42 kills on a .178 attack percentage compared to Randolph-Macon’s 31 kills on a .066 attack percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Riley O’Dowd and freshman outside hitter Rosina Esposito added eight kills each for Susquehanna.
“It was a really great start to the weekend,” Portale said. “The energy of the game was so high which made it even more fun. We still have some things to work out in practice since it’s still early in the season, but that was a really important win for us.”
Randolph-Macon’s Sydney Koch had seven kills, while Angela Tender lead their team with 18 assists, and Madison Warlick added 16 digs in the Randolph-Macon loss.
The River Hawks were slower to start the morning of Sept. 7, dropping the first set to Averett University 25-23. However, the River Hawks came right back, winning three sets in a row to give them the victory 3-1.
Susquehanna senior setter, Lindsey Pugh dished out a game high 39 assists, while Portale added 16 kills and Herestofa added 22 digs.
Susquehanna served up 47 kills on a .151 attack percentage during the win. Averett connected on 37 kills with an attack percentage of .063.
Madison Dadez and Zamyiah Mangum led Averett with eight kills each, while their setter McKenzie Miller added a team high 26 assists in the loss.
Game two of the double header on Saturday for Susquehanna was against Marymount University. The River Hawks won the contest 3-0 thanks to 46 kills on a .212 attack percentage.
Esposito led Susquehanna in kills with 13, while Portale added 11. Pugh led the game in assists for the second time in the tournament with 34.
“We’re starting to gain some momentum as we face tougher teams,” Herestofa said. “[The invitational] put us in prep for the rest of our schedule.”
Susquehanna will look to keep up the momentum, as they compete in the Doubletree Invitational in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Sept. 13-14.
