Araiza Acum-Santos had a team-high 12 kills versus Middlebury and added eight more in a win against Keuka, as the St. Lawrence University volleyball team split their start to the North Country Challenge with a 3-0 (20-25, 17-25, 19-25) loss to Middlebury, followed by a straight-sets 3-0 (25-23, 25-9, 25-22) win against Keuka.

"We got off to a great start against Middlebury but then we weren't able to sustain that momentum," said Saints head coach Shelly Roiger. "When we needed to execute on all cylinders the most, we were just a bit slow or sloppy with our contact. We shot ourselves in the foot multiple times with our serving and with a quality opponent like Middlebury, we just can't have that frequency of unforced errors."

"We didn't play crisp against Keuka, but we were able to come through and get the job done when opportunities arose," Roiger continued. "Our block came up big during both matches when we needed it the most and we were able to sneak out two come-from-behind wins in sets one and three. Overall, I thought we played much better in our loss against Middlebury than our win over Keuka. Regardless, I hope the team is starting to believe in what they can accomplish with our 4-1 start as we will need our A-game against a very talented St. John Fisher team tomorrow."
 

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Game 1: Middlebury 3, St. Lawrence 0 (20-25, 17-25, 19-25)

St. Lawrence came out of the gate red-hot, putting some real estate between them and the Panthers early in the first set with an early run and igniting the Saints' faithful at Burkman Gymnasium. The Saints got three kills from Acum-Santos in the first six points of the game, helping them to a 5-1 lead early. They extended their lead as high as 10-4 on another 4-0 run shortly after featuring a Bridget Gammons kill. Middlebury then took 10 of the next 12 points to go up 15-12 on the Saints and ultimately won the first set 25-20.

The Saints took an early advantage in the second set as well. Adeline Riesenberger and Gammons teamed up for a block on the first point of the set, then two more Acum-Santos kills helped the Scarlet and Brown to a 4-3 lead. Middlebury then strung points together, going up 9-5 on the Saints, before the teams then traded points until the end of the second set. The Saints dropped it 25-17 after the Panthers notched the last four points.

The third set was a departure from the previous two, with Middlebury going up 4-0 and leading it wire-to-wire. Joining Acum-Santos atop the kills column were Gammons with seven and Berit Brecke with six. Vanessa Latam had a team-high 21 assists, and Cassady Smith had 17 digs. Acum-Santos also chipped in defensively with 12 digs.
 

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Game 2: St. Lawrence 3, Keuka 0 (25-23, 25-9, 25-22)

The first set of the match saw multiple long runs by each team. With St. Lawrence up 9-8, the Scarlet and Brown picked up five straight points to extend their lead to 14-8, highlighted by a Riesenberger kill and a Latam service ace. Keuka put together an 8-0 run of their own to go up 18-15 later in the set, forcing the Saints into a timeout and reset. Ultimately, the Saints outscored Keuka 10-5 from that point on to win the opening set.
 
The second set was all St. Lawrence. They dominated from start to finish, going up 6-3 early in the set, then scoring 11 of the next 14 points to take a 17-6 lead. They didn't look back from there, ending the set with the Wolves stuck in single digits.

Just like the opening set of the match, the teams played tightly in the third. Late in the set, the Saints found themselves down 21-19 and the prospect of a fourth set looming. However, Latam and Riesenberger tied the game with back-to-back kills, then the Saints took the lead on the next point. Riesenberger made it 23-21, then a Keuka attack error gave the Saints match point. Gammons eventually put the game away.  


 

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Up Next:

St. Lawrence will continue their run of three games in under 24 hours Saturday at 1 pm, when they take on St. John Fisher.