CANTON, N.Y. – The Hawks picked up two more wins on Saturday over Clarkson and Oswego State to remain undefeated through their first six games of 2024.
 
THE BASICS
 

• Final Scores:  
  • Hartwick 3, Clarkson 2 (22-25, 25-21, 16-25, 25-22, 15-8)
  • Hartwick 3, Oswego St. 0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-22)
• Location:  Canton, N.Y.
• Records:
  • Hartwick (5-0 Overall), Clarkson (1-4 Overall)
  • Hartwick (6-0 Overall), Oswego St. (4-2 Overall)

 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
 
Hartwick vs Clarkson
 

• The Hawks battled tooth and nail with Clarkson in the first set, falling by three points.
• However, Hartwick battled back in the second to take the set win 25-21 to even up the match at one game each.
• Clarkson regained the lead in the third set by holding the Hawks to a near .000 hitting percentage while putting away 12 kills with just four errors for a 25-16 win.
• Hartwick once again fought back in the fourth, picking up a 25-22 win to force the deciding fifth set.
• The Hawks asserted themselves early in the fifth set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead.
• The Golden Knights put together a run in the middle of the set, but a strong service run by Staecia Silofau (Kapolei, Hawaii) shut the door on Clarkson as the Hawks went on to win 15-8 to take the hard-fought match.
• Setter Braelyn Hornick (Candor, N.Y.) commented after the match, "We served tough and kept them out of their system.  We responded well every time they went on a scoring run and adjusted well to their block."
• "Clarkson is traditionally one of the strongest teams in our region and we once again turned in a gritty performance against a great team," remarked Head Coach Janet Donovan.
• Silofau paced an offense that saw four Hawks reach double digit kills.  The senior right side collected 18 kills across the five sets.
• Shaelyn Thornton (Scarborough, Me.) was all over the floor for Hartwick, hitting.286 with 14 kills while also registering a team-high 23 digs.
• In addition to orchestrating the offense with 49 assists, Hornick also picked up 17 digs.

 
Hartwick vs Oswego
 

• After grinding out a five-set win, the Hawks had to immediately return to the court for their second match of the day against Oswego State.
• While Hartwick only mustered eight kills in the first set, they held the Lakers to just three kills and a negative hitting percentage to pick up a 25-11 win.
• The Hawks posted an identical score in the second set to go up 2-0 in the match.
• Both offenses struggled in the third set, resulting in several unforced errors and a 16-16 tie in the middle of the set.
• However, the Hawks picked up four-straight points off of two kills from Silofau, one from Aaliyah Williams (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), and an ace by Thornton to give themselves enough of a cushion to ride out the remainder of the set for a 25-22 win.
• Shelby Swartz (Candor, N.Y.) led the offense with 11 kills.

 
UP NEXT FOR THE HAWKS
 
The Hawks will have an extended break in action, before hitting the road on Monday, September 16 for a non-conference against the SUNY Delhi Broncos.
 
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.