The St. Lawrence University volleyball team wrapped up the first weekend of the 2018 season with another split on the second day of the North Country Invitational Saturday afternoon at Burkman Gymnasium. The Saints fell to the United States Coast Guard Academy, 3-2, in the first match of the day, but rebounded for their second win of the season over Keuka (3-0).

Match 1 vs. United States Coast Guard Academy (USCG 3, St. Lawrence 2)

After five sets the Bears came from behind to top the Saints 3-2 by scores of 25-19, 27-25, 19-25, 22-25, 9-15.

First year Natalie Piper led the Saints with 15 kills, 12 digs, four blocks and three service aces, while Grace Kelly tallied 11 kills, 14 digs and one block. Maddy Bishop led the Saints with 22 assists and Ally Good posted a second-best 18 assists. Reagan Collier-Hogan tied Kelly for a team-best 14 digs.

"I thought overall we played at a much better level today," said head coach Shelly Roiger. "Coast Guard was a great opponent for us as we prepare for the Liberty League season and it was a dog fight just as we had expected. We got off to a great start and executed the game plan well in sets one and two but they made some nice adjustments and we just weren't able to execute with a sense of urgency when we needed to. We had our chances to put the match away, especially in the late teens of the third set, but we didn't seize the moment. During preseason we talked a lot about grabbing opportunities, and the important lesson of life that if you don't grab an opportunity when it presents itself, someone else will. This was a perfect example of that. We needed to be confidently aggressive and instead we played careful and usually 'careful' in volleyball leads to the opponent scoring."



Amanda Drake led the Bears with 10 kills, while Angelou Dunton and Mary Sweet each recorded nine. Makenna Martin assisted on 21 plays, while Veronica Hine picked up 18 digs and Dunton added 15.

The Saints totaled 51 kills, 46 assists, six service aces, 56 digs and 14 blocks against the Bears.

Match 2 vs. Keuka College (St. Lawrence 3, Keuka 0)

In the second match of the day, Marissa Parker led the way for the Saints with eight kills and two service aces. Teppo went up for a team-best four blocks, while Bishop assisted on 15 plays and Collier-Hogan picked up a team-high 12 digs.

"Keuka was a total team effort in the victory," Roiger added. "We were able to play a lot of our roster and each and every player was ready to make contributions."

"We have a lot of work to do this week, especially in the area of our service game and execution of free balls. I'm pleased with the energy and effort of our team overall and I know this team is unsatisfied with some results. We're looking forward to a great week of practice where we'll focus on getting some much-needed reps and getting into game situations to prepare for a great weekend at New Paltz." 



The Wolves were led by Abby Anderson with seven kills, while Alyssa Rex picked up 18 assists and Emily Cottrell added a team0best 10 digs for Keuka.

First years Collier-Hogan, Piper, Courtney Benson, Annika Kreppein and Madison Amico all participated in their first collegiate matched this weekend, with Piper and Collier-Hogan making the starting lineup for the Saints.
SUNY Geneseo swept the North Country Invitational with a 4-0 record, while the USCG finished 3-1, the Saints finished 2-2, Clarkson went 2-1, Marywood went 0-3 and Keuka 0-4.   

Piper was named to the All-Tournament team, which also consisted of - Grace Cergol (SUNY Geneseo) – MVP, Emily Ast (SUNY Geneseo), Angelou Dunton (USCG), Lauren Kuipers (Keuka), Rachel Reusch (Clarkson) and Gabriella Santos (Marywood).

The Scarlet and Brown will hit the road next weekend for the Hawks Invitational at SUNY New Paltz. The Saints will face the Hawks and Mount Saint Mary on Friday, September 7th before taking on Hamilton and Alfred on Saturday, September 8th.