By Evin Caswell, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna volleyball team won four of five matches this past weekend, defeating No. 7 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at the Emory Invitational, held on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27 in Atlanta.
The River Hawks’ first win of the week came on the road on Oct. 23 with a 3-0 sweep of Bloomsburg University.
Susquehanna tallied 46 kills for the match on a 0.244 attack percentage with 17 errors, while Bloomsburg added 29 kills on a 0.085 attack percentage with 19 errors.
The River Hawks continued their win streak at the Emory Invitational with a sweep of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Holding comfortable leads in the opening two sets, Susquehanna ended up winning the first set 25-16 and the second set 25-15. The third and final set, however, proved to be a bit closer, ending in a 25-23 River Hawk victory.
Susquehanna ended the game with 41 kills on a 0.327 attack percentage with only nine errors. Wisconsin-Whitewater had 33 kills on a 0.146 attack percentage with 18 errors.
Junior Sydney Portale and freshman Rosina Esposito led the River Hawks in kills with 11 each, while senior Lindsey Pugh dished out a game-high 33 assists.
“There are so many moving parts in this sport and all have to be working to be successful. We hope to carry this momentum into the last week of our regular season and far into the postseason,” Pugh said.
The second win of the day for the River Hawks came against Saint Mary’s College with a 3-0 sweep.
In the opening set, the River Hawks dominated, scoring a 25-13 victory. The second set was a bit more competitive, as Susquehanna won 25-21, but the River Hawks once again scored a one-sided victory in the final set, coming out on top by a score of 25-14.
Susquehanna dominated the match with 46 kills on a 0.267 attack percentage with 18 errors. Saint Mary’s struggled with just 16 kills on a -0.022 attack percentage with 18 errors.
The final day of the tournament brought another doubleheader for the River Hawks. The first match was against Roanoke College.
Susquehanna defeated The Maroon’s 3-0 with scores of 25-18, 25-22 and 25-19.
Susquehanna dished out 45 kills on a 0.282 attack percentage with 14 errors. Roanoke added 26 kills on a 0.133 attack percentage with 14 errors.
Esposito and Portale once again led Susquehanna in kills with 13 and 11, respectively. Junior Lizzie Herestofa led the River Hawks in digs with 12.
Susquehanna’s win streak, however, came to an end during their last match of the tournament against nationally ranked No.3 Emory University 3-2.
In a tough battle, Susquehanna lost the opening set 25-23, but bounced back to take the second set 25-1. The River Hawks then won set three as well with a 25-23 final score.The Eagles, however, then won the fourth set 25-21 and the fifth set 15-9 to take the match overall.
The River Hawks served up 53 kills on a 0.130 attack percentage with only 29 errors. Emory tallied a total of 61 kills on a 0.188 attack percentage with 27 errors.
“We had an amazing weekend against nationally-ranked teams and we rose to the occasion to take down 3 of the 4 teams we played,” junior Abby Cannon said.
Following a strong week of play, Pugh was named Landmark Conference Athlete of the Week.
Susquehanna will look to continue its success when they take on a pair of conference foes in Catholic and Juniata on Nov. 2 in Huntingdon, Pa.
