Araiza Acum-Santos had two big performances, totaling 33 kills and 18 digs across two games as the St. Lawrence volleyball team defeated both SUNY Poly and Keuka Saturday afternoon in Keuka, N.Y.
With the two non-conference victories, the Saints improve to 5-17 in the final weeks of the season.
Bridget Gammons pitched in with 18 kills on the day, which was good for second on the team, while
Sofia Velasquez contributed with 15.
Kori Meissner had 19 digs to lead the Saints and also had six aces.
Kate Gardner led all Saints with eleven blocks.
Game 1: St. Lawrence 3, SUNY Poly 1 (25-18, 25-19, 20-25, 25-17)
The beginning set number one was tight, until when leading 6-5, the Saints scored three straight to take what was then their largest lead of the set. The Saints went on to hold between a 1-5 point lead until the very end. After leading 22-17, St. Lawrence scored three of the last four points, which included a kill from Velasquez as they took the opening set by a score of 25-18.
Much like the first set, the second was close early although with the Saints leading 9-8, the Wildcats rattled off four straight points to earn a three-point lead. After a St. Lawrence timeout, the Saints went on a run of their own, scoring 12 straight points as Velasquez was serving, giving them a 21-12 lead. Acum-Santos had three kills in this stretch and Gammons added two. The Saints hung on for the set win.
The Saints got off to a 9-6 lead in the third set, but a 5-0 run by the Wildcats gave them the advantage. Later, another 4-0 run by SUNY Poly swelled their lead up to 17-12, and those two runs helped them to a five-point win in set three.
The Saints opened the fourth set with a 2-0 lead and never let that go. Although the Saints did not go on any extended runs, the Wildcats never got into any groove. The Saints lead got up to six on several occasions, and with the score at 21-15, a kill from Gammons gave the Saints a seven point advantage. A kill by
Audrey Bibbins helped the Saints win the set and earn the victory.
Game 2: St. Lawrence 3, Keuka 1 (25-20, 28-26, 16-25, 25-20)
The Saints got out to an early 7-3 lead, but the Wolves quickly erased that with a 6-1 run to make the game 9-8 in favor of Keuka. The two teams exchanged points for the middle part of the set, but when the game was knotted at 15, the Saints took four of the next five points behind a kill from Velasquez and an ace from Meissner.
Late in the set, the Scarlet and Brown got their largest lead of the game after a block from Gammons and Gardner had the Saints up 22-17. Kills by Acum-Santos and Gammons gave St. Lawrence their 24th and 25th points to win set number one 25-20.
The second set was closely contested with many ties and lead swings. With the score tied at 9, Keuka went on a 3-0 run, but St. Lawrence immediately responded with a 4-0 run highlighted by one kill each from Gammons and Acum-Santos.
After more back-and-forth action, the Saints went on a 4-1 run with the score tied at 18 to put them ahead 22-19. However, Keuka recovered and took the lead 23-22 afterwards. At 23-23, Acum-Santos had a kill but the Saints failed to get the next point, extending the game past 25. Tied up at 26,
Kate Gardner had an ace and then Acum-Santos got yet another kill to push the Saints past the Wolves 28-26 in thrilling fashion.
After evenly played volleyball to commence the third set, Keuka got a 4-0 run going with the score 12-10 in favor of the Wolves. Although the Saints scored the next two points off of two errors by Keuka, they were never able to string together a run. The Wolves went on another 4-0 run to conclude the set, comfortably winning 25-16, and bringing the set score to 2-1.
In the fourth set, St. Lawrence held a 10-8 lead, but the wolves got the next four points. The Saints were playing from behind for most of the middle section of the set, but a 4-0 run led by kills from Gammons and Velasquez tied up the game at 17. Another kill from Velasquez a few points later gave the Scarlet and Brown a 19-18 advantage. The Saints were in control the rest of the way; only allowing the Wolves to score two more points in the set. A 3-0 run, capped off the set, as the Saints earned two 3-1 victories for the day.
Up Next:
The Saints will next play in a weekday matchup at SUNY Canton Wednesday, November 6th, looking to avenge a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Roos earlier in the season.
