CLINTON, N.Y. – The Hawks traveled to Hamilton College on Saturday to pick up two non-conference matches over their Empire 8 bye-weekend.  Hartwick would come away with a split, defeating DeSales 3-1 before falling to the hosts, Hamilton 3-0.
 
THE BASICS
 

• Final Scores:         Hartwick 3, DeSales (25-20, 25-19, 23-25, 25-17)

Hartwick 0, Hamilton 3 (23-25, 23-25, 16-25)
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
 

• Hartwick started their day with an 11 AM match against DeSales University at Hamilton College.
• The first set of the match saw both squads take short runs pushing each other past one another with each held serve.
• The Hawks were the ones to hang on at the end finishing off the 25-20 win with an ace from Kaileigh Brandow (Manorville, N.Y.).
• Hartwick took control of the second set early and continued to keep the Bulldogs at a distance to close out the 25-19 win.
• However, DeSales did not go quietly in the match, staying right within striking distance of the Hawks to take a 25-23 win.
• The Hawks turned the tables quickly in the fourth set, forcing the Bulldogs into five straight attack errors early in the set.
• Up just 10-9 in the fourth, sided out with a kill by Brandow to put the ball in the hands of Vanessa Seymour (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.).  Behind the serve of the first-year setter, the Hawks went on to extend their 11-9 lead to 16-9, giving them enough separation to ride the rest of the set out winning 25-17.
• Staecia Silofau (Kapolei, Hawaii) put away 14 kills in the match to go along with 13 digs.
• Shaelyn Thornton followed closely behind with 13 kills.
• In addition to a momentum swinging kill in the fourth set from Brandow, the senior posted a team-high 17 digs to go along with four aces.
• Libero Sarah Petz ended her day with 15 digs.
• Collectively, the Hawks posted 15 aces across the four sets as well as 12 blocks compared to just six and four from the Bulldogs.
• The Hawks had a quick turnaround, immediately focusing their attention on Hamilton college.
• Hartwick carried their momentum into their second match against the Continentals, taking a 14-11 lead mid-way through the first set.
• Hamilton responded eventually taking a 23-18 lead.
• Hartwick capitalized on a Continentals' service error, putting together a string off points thanks to two kills from Thornton, one from Aaliyah Williams (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), and a big block from Williams and Seymour to knot the score up at 23-23
• Unfortunately, Hamilton would go on to take the next two points to pick up the 25-23 win.
• The second set was much of the same as the two teams went back and forth throughout the set ultimately finding themselves tied 23-23. 
• The Continentals once again found a way to take the next two points from the Hawks to pick up another 25-23 win.
• Hamilton took control of the third set early and did not look back to take the win 25-16 to complete the three-set match sweep.
• Thornton recorded a volleyball double-double in the second match, picking up 10 kills to go along with 14 kills to lead the Hawks.

 
UP NEXT FOR THE HAWKS
 
The Hawks shift their focus to their final Empire 8 regular season contest of the season, traveling to Houghton University on Saturday, October 28 for a 2 PM start.
 
HARTWICK COLLEGE
 
One of the oldest colleges in the country, Hartwick has continually evolved for 225 years. The College's exciting new chapter is called FlightPath, a future-focused approach to education. Offering a distinctive blend of curricular, co-curricular and real-world work experiences, FlightPath builds on Hartwick's long history of integrating broad-based studies with experiential learning.
 
Hartwick College is a nationally ranked independent college of the arts and sciences located in picturesque Oneonta, NY, in the northern foothills of the Catskill Mountains. The College offers 35 courses of study leading to a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree, two master's degrees in the sciences, and a graduate certificate in nursing education. For more information, visit www.Hartwick.edu.