ONEONTA, NY – The Hartwick volleyball team upped their home record to 6-1 on Tuesday night, as they took down local rival SUNY Delhi in three sets (25-22, 25-13, 25-23) on the Lambros wood. The victory moves the Hawks to 11-2 on the season, while the Broncos' impressive season receives a temporary setback as they move to 12-4.
The first set started out evenly, as the teams found themselves tied at seven apiece early on. Hartwick began to pull away soon after, running off six straight points to take their one-point 9-8 lead up to a seven-point advantage. They expanded that cushion a bit further to 20-11 and needed all those points, as the Broncos would score five in a row of their own to take the set to 20-16. 'Wick did enough to win from there, however, eventually taking the three-point win on a Kiera Walsh (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) kill.
Aside from an early-set blip, the second set proved a lot easier for Hartwick. Down 8-6, the Hawks reeled off seven consecutive points, punctuated by a Sarah Petz (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) ace that precipitated a Delhi timeout. A one-point reprieve followed, but then the Hawks went right back to it and picked up five more points for an 18-9 lead. That just about did it, as the remaining Broncos effort was too little, too late to avoid the two-set hole.
The beginning of the third set belied the ultimate result, as the visitors found themselves up 11-7 early on. As they have done so often this season, however, the Hawks turned it around to the tune of eight consecutive points and a 15-11 lead. They extended that lead to 20-13 before the Broncos began to close the gap, which they eventually cut to one at 24-23 after shoving off three match points. It was not to be for Delhi, though, as a big-time Toria Betelak (North Syracuse, NY/Liverpool) kill ended the set at 25-23 and the match at three sets to zero.
Kayley Ericson (Franklin, CT/Norwich Free Academy) led all Hawks with 18 assists and picked up her first double-double of the season with 12 digs; she also had two aces. Braelyn Hornick (Candor, NY/Candor) did the rest of the setting for Hartwick, putting up 14 helpers. Petz led her team with 13 digs, tying her season high, and Betelak led the Hawks with nine kills and the match with six blocks.
'Wick returns to action this weekend with back-to-back conference road matches. They will take on Houghton on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by Keuka on Saturday at noon.
Make sure to catch the latest news on all your favorite Hartwick Hawks teams by following @HawkTalk on Twitter, @hartwickhawks on Instagram, and by liking 'Hartwick Hawks' on Facebook.
