Kori Meissner had a career high 22 digs and Bridget Gammons recorded 17 kills as the St. Lawrence University volleyball team defeated the SUNY Canton Kangaroos Wednesday night at the Roos House. 

With the victory, the Saints continued on their late-season tear as they recorded their third straight non-conference win ahead of their final weekend of the year. 

"I'm very proud of the balance of composure and competitiveness that our team showed tonight," said Shelly Roiger, the Saints' head coach. "We got off to a brutal start but they kept chipping away in the first set and we had opportunities to put set one away but ultimately couldn't execute well enough to close it out. We had another slow start, but again, the team kept competing and earned an important win in set two. Set three was dominant and during set four we lost our focus. We talked about the importance of starting out strong in the last set and we did just that. SUNY Canton came back multiple times but we never relinquished the lead and finished the match strong.  After being swept in September by them, this win definitely felt good and checks another box in the 'improvement' category as we evaluate the season."

It was a slow start for the Saints, as they found themselves trailing 8-0 in the first set. Kills from Sofia Velasquez and Bridget Gammons helped the Saints trim the deficit to four, at 9-5, but the Roos extended the lead back up to eight. Down 24-21, St. Lawrence scored three straight with kills from Audrey Bibbins and Araiza Acum-Santos. Despite the comeback, the Roos ended the game with back-to-back points with the score knotted at 27 to take the first set. 

In set two, the Saints fell behind early once again, facing a 9-3 deficit. However, a plethora of errors and a kill from Velasquez gave the Saints five straight points. Velasquez had another kill with the set tied at 11, to give the Saints their first lead of the set. Later on with the score at 14 a piece, the Saints went on a 4-0 run with three consecutive kills from Acum-Santos, Gammons, and Kate Gardner to take a 18-14 lead. A kill from Velasquez later ended the set at 25-21. 

In the third set, St. Lawrence started on a high note, leading 3-0, and then cruised their way to a 12-3 lead. Shortly after the Saints took an early double digit advantage 14-4. The Saints were in control the rest of the way, only allowing the Roos to score eight total points on the set. A 4-0 run ended the set, the 17-point set victory being the largest margin of victory on the season. 

St. Lawrence couldn't replicate the success from the third set early in the fourth, but trailing 9-5, the Scarlet and Brown used four straight points to tie it at 9, highlighted by a pair of kills from Acum-Santos. The middle part of the set was evenly matched between the two teams, however, with the game tied at 16, the Roos went on a 3-0 run to take a 19-16 lead. The Saints couldn't get the game back in their favor, ultimately falling 25-21 as the game headed to a fifth set. 

Early in the fifth set, the two kills from Gammons and a service ace by Maggie Layman allowed the Saints to open a 6-2 lead. St. Lawrence continued to hold a lead for the mid-game although SUNY Canton made it interesting by getting within one point a few times. The Saints led 12-11 and then a kill from Velasquez, a kill by Gammons, and a service ace by Vanessa Latam gave St. Lawrence a five-set victory. 

Velasquez and Acum-Santos each recorded 14 kills on the night. Latam had 44 assists and was second on the team with 13 digs. 

The Saints have two more games on the 2024 schedule, both of which will be played at the SUNY Potsdam Triad this weekend. They will match up against the hosting Bears at 11 a.m. Saturday, November 9 and then play SUNY Poly at 1 p.m. the same day. The Saints lost in four to the Bears earlier in the year and have downed the Wildcats twice this season.