ALBANY, NY – After dropping the first set, the Hartwick volleyball team cruised past host Sage on Saturday afternoon, winning 3-1 (17-25, 25-7, 25-12, 25-17). The win moves the Hawks to 13-8 overall, tied with the 2007 team for the best record through 21 matches in program history. They are also now 3-2 in the Empire 8, tied with their next opponent Nazareth for the final playoff spot. A postseason berth would be the first ever for the Hawks in the conference's four-team format. Sage's difficult year continues, as they are now 4-19 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
With the two teams tied at nine in the first set, Sage put together a 5-0 run to grab control of the contest. They led by as much as eight at 21-13 before eventually putting the set away on a Hartwick attack error for the eight-point win. The Hawks bounced back in a big way in set two, allowing Sage to score just seven points. After falling behind 3-1, they scored seven consecutive points, the last three of which came on kills by Toria Betelak (North Syracuse, NY/Liverpool). They had a longer stretch of dominance later on in the set, running the table on the final 13 points while up 12-7 to take the win. Katie Boak (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) had a pair of aces on the run, and Colette Maloney (Williston Park, NY/Mineola) had two points of her own via kill.
The third set was closer, but still easily went 'Wick's way. Down 5-4, Hartwick won six of seven points to take an 11-6 lead and force a Sage timeout. Boak and Kaitlyn Ludder (West Sand Lake, NY/Averill Park) each had two aces in that stretch, while Maria Sorriento (Troy, NY/Troy), Betelak, and Maloney had a kill apiece. Leading 15-11, Hartwick conceded just one more point over the rest of the set, which ended on a Sarah Petz (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) ace.
The fourth set began with three points for Hartwick, although Sage would close to within one at 9-8. From there the Hawks took control, as consecutive Sorriento kills spurred a 6-0 run, ending in a 15-8 lead for the road side. Sage never really challenged from there, getting as close as four points once at 18-14. The match ended with yet another kill by Betelak.
Betelak played the best attacking game of her career, posting a career-high 15 kills on a stellar .542 attack percentage. She leads the conference in hitting percentage, at .343. Sorriento was next with 13 kills, also registering eight digs and tying for the match-high with three blocks. Maloney had a nice all-around day, with 15 digs, eight kills, and an ace. Boak had another excellent serving day with five aces to go with her match-high 16 digs. Kayley Ericson (Franklin, CT/Norwich Free Academy) did the setting for the Hawks, posting 40 assists as well as eight digs.
Miranda Nethaway led the Gators with seven kills. Megan Ryder had a team-high 15 digs and five kills, while Emma Parkington put up nine digs, five kills, and a block. Francesca Gigliotti had 12 assists, four digs, and two aces.
The Hawks will rest up for awhile, as their next match is in nearly two weeks. They travel to Rochester for the front end of an Empire 8 back-to-back, taking on Nazareth in a match rife with postseason implications on Friday, October 25 at 6 p.m.
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