Adeline Riesenberger led the St. Lawrence University volleyball team in kills across both their Saturday games, as they moved their record to 6-4 with a split of pair of games against William Peace and Hunter at Muhlenberg College's Buttermaker Tournament.
"We definitely got our money's worth this weekend," said Saints head coach Shelly Roiger, referencing the grueling length of many sets over the course of the four-game tournament.
"The William Peace game was a match filled with pendulum swings. After a horrendous first set, we battled hard to secure a 30-28 second set victory, but our execution diminished in the fourth and fifth sets. Thirty minutes later, we were playing what would be sets 13-16 of the weekend. Our work in the weight room (shout out to Jon Lynch) and athleticism carried us through a four set victory over Hunter."
Game 1: William Peace 3, St. Lawrence 2 (14-25, 30-28, 25-20, 13-25, 12-15)
After a
Rose Meihaus kill to put St. Lawrence up 6-5 in the opening set, the Pacers had an offensive burst. They took 12 of the next 14 points to go up 17-8 on St. Lawrence and didn't look back.
That produced a marathon second set. The Saints had the early advantage, after a five-point run including two
Cassady Smith aces made it 10-5 Saints, forcing a William Peace timeout. The Saints then held a three-to-five point advantage into the later stages of the set, when it was 24-21. The Pacers then put four straight points up to make it 25-24. St. Lawrence posted six of the next nine points to win it, with a
Bridget Gammons kill and
Vanessa Latam service ace sealing the deal.
Another close set in the third went St. Lawrence's way, as they downed the Pacers 25-20. They led wire to wire, and had a 10-point lead at 23-13 before a late surge by Peace made it close. Riesenberger had a kill to seal the five-point win.
The Pacers then took the final two sets to seal the victory, including a tight final set where the Pacers went on a 4-0 run to end the match in the deciding stanza.
Game 2: St. Lawrence 3, Hunter 1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-17, 25-11)
Fresh off a five-set thriller with William Peace, Hunter aimed to capitalize on the Saints in their first match of the day. They did take an early 7-4 lead on St. Lawrence, but the Scarlet and Brown battled back. They strung together an 8-0 run, and had 11 of 12 points mid-set to take an 18-10 lead. That run served as the catalyst for the set win, and it was 1-0 St. Lawrence.
The Saints then engaged in their second extra-point set of the day, falling 26-24 to Hunter. This set featured multiple lead changes and very few multi-point leads, until St. Lawrence got to set point up 24-23 off a Riesenberger kill. The Hawks rallied for three straight points to win it.
The third set saw another close set until the Saints went on another run. The Saints were up 14-10 when they posted six straight points to double up the Hawks and get their largest set lead of the match to that point. They took the set 25-14.
The fourth set was all SLU, as they went up big early. They went on a 7-0 run, riding three service aces from
Cassady Smith. Shortly thereafter they strung together eight straight points to go up 16-2.
The Hawks would ultimately get their score to double digits, but the 14-point spread remained until match point was taken on a Gammons kill.
Up Next:
The Saints will return home for the SLU Triad, set to get underway Saturday, September 20. St. Lawrence will welcome VTSU Castleton and SUNY Potsdam to Burkman Gymnasium.
