Araiza Acum-Santos, Sofia Velasquez, and Adeline Riesenberger all had nine kills across the span of the two games, and Acum-Santos added 25 digs, but both SUNY Morrisville and Keuka handed the St. Lawrence University volleyball team losses Saturday as the team competed in the Hamilton Tournament.

"Definitely a frustrating weekend, but frustration is a sign of caring," said Shelly Roiger, St. Lawrence head volleyball coach. "How we handle and move forward from this start will have a big impact on the rest of the season, so time will tell. Injuries have definitely plagued us, but we won't use that as an excuse. Everyone, including myself, will take some ownership, and we'll get ready for our home triad on Friday with better execution and results."
 

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Game 1: St. Lawrence 0, SUNY Morrisville 3 (16-25, 16-25, 24-26)
 
In the Saints' second matchup of the year versus the Mustangs, the first half of the opening set was closely contested with neither team able to take more than a two-point lead. Although, after the Saints controlled a 12-11 lead, the Mustangs rattled off six straight points. Morrisville went on to capture the first set 25-16. 

In the second set, Morrisville held an 8-4 lead early but the Scarlet and Brown got five of the next six behind a few attacking errors by the Mustangs and a service ace by Acum-Santos. After the game was tied at 11, the Mustangs scored five straight to earn their largest lead of the set. In a similar fashion to the first set, the Saints weren't able to climb back and fell 25-16. 

The Mustangs started off 4-0 in the third set, but the Saints got back into the game with a 4-0 run to tie it up. The next portion of the game saw the team exchanging leads but late, the Saints earned a two-point lead 20-18, though Morrisville scored three of the next four points to grab a 22-21 lead. With the score 24-23 in favor of the Saints aiming to close out the set, a service error by St. Lawrence extended the game further. Morrisville was then able to get a couple of hard earned points and take the final set by a score of 26-24. 
           

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Game 2: St. Lawrence 0, Keuka 3 (18-25, 19-25, 11-25)
 
The opening part of the first set started off tight; neither team earned more than a three-point advantage until the Wolves took a 13-9 lead. After this though, the Saints got back into the game on a 6-2 run to tie it at 15. Rose Meihaus had two kills in this span while Acum-Santos had one. Keuka, however, regrouped to earn a 22-18 lead, then scored the next three to win the set by seven. 

The Wolves then dominated opening the second set, scoring the first three points and ultimately leading 10-4. When it was 14-7 the Scarlet and Brown went on a small run to make it 15-11. St. Lawrence kept the game close past this point, but Keuka held them off for a 25-19 set victory. 

Keuka was strong all the way through in the third set, never looking back from their 11-6 opening lead. The Saints were held in check all the way through, ultimately losing 25-11. 
 

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Up Next:

The Saints will return home Friday, September 20 and host their first SLU Triad of 2024, as they welcome SUNY Canton at 4 p.m. and SUNY Potsdam at 8 p.m.