Bridget Gammons posted 31 kills over two matches, as the St. Lawrence University volleyball team put together three straight set wins against Utica before rallying past Russell Sage in a five-setter to sweep their triad on Saturday.
The first win of the day was the 300
th in the career of Saints head coach
Shelly Roiger, reaching the milestone earned over a span of 17 seasons coaching SLU. The Saints' overall record stands at 12-8.
"We played plenty of different lineups and combinations today, and I thought our team responded well," said Saints head coach
Shelly Roiger. "Our aggressiveness was at a healthy level most of the day, and it is always rewarding to see players' confidence grow."
Match 1: St. Lawrence 3, Utica 0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-19)
Cara Vitarisi opened up the first set by giving the Saints back-to-back service aces while up one which put them out front 4-1 early. Utica tied the set 6-6, but would not lead again. Up 19-16, the Saints rattled off six of seven points via two
Annika Flittie kills and two
Naiyah Reece aces to win the opening set.
The second set was played within a point for the opening portion. With the score at 10-10, the Saints caught fire and engaged in a 12-1 run.
Bridget Gammons had five kills in that stretch.
Kaitlyn Putman had the final kill in the set to win it for the Scarlet and Brown.
Aside from a 1-0 lead for Utica, the Saints controlled the final set of the match, leading or tied from that point on again. They put the exclamation point on the straight set win with three straight points, punctuated by a
McKayla Pollard kill.
St. Lawrence hit .271 for the match to Utica's .073. The Saints hit .410 in the second set, their best mark of the match. Gammons and Pollard each had 12 kills, with Pollard hitting .478 and Gammons adding four blocks.
Cara Vitarisi led a 12-ace serving effort with five, while
Araiza Acum-Santos and
Naiyah Reece each added three.
Cassady Smith had 13 digs.
Match 2: St. Lawrence 3, Russell Sage 2 (25-16, 23-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-6)
St. Lawrence jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Russell Sage answered with a four-point run on Emma Curry's serve and the teams traded the lead through a 14-13 score. The Saints then took control, outscoring the hosts 11-3 the rest of the way behind five kills from Gammons. St. Lawrence hit .219 in the opener while holding Sage to a .000 attack percentage. Pollard finished it with a kill for a 25-16 win.
Russell Sage turned the tables with a 6-0 start and pushed its lead to 10-2 before the Saints found their footing. St. Lawrence chipped away, tied it at 11-11 and moved ahead 14-13 on back-to-back Smith service aces. Sage regained control with a 5-0 run on Curry's serve for an 18-15 lead, and the Saints pulled even at 20-20. The hosts then won five of the final eight points for a 25-23 victory that evened the match at 1-1.
The third set belonged to Sage for most of the way, and a five-point run midway through gave the hosts a 21-14 lead. St. Lawrence refused to go away, scoring nine of the next 11 points, including three straight kills from Reece to tie it at 23. Sage earned the final two points, the last on a Paige Kemmer kill, to take the set 25-23.
St. Lawrence led from the early going and built a 15-7 advantage on the strength of a five-point service run from Smith. Russell Sage responded with a 6-1 burst to get within 18-14 and later trimmed the gap to 18-17 on three straight Kemmer kills. The Saints steadied themselves, led 24-21 and closed it out 25-22 on a Pollard kill to send the match to a fifth set.
St. Lawrence never trailed in the decider. The Saints built a 7-3 lead, then Smith served three straight aces to open a 13-5 advantage. St. Lawrence hit .500 in the set without an attack error, and Vitarisi sealed the 15-6 win with a kill.
Gammons led St. Lawrence with 19 kills on a .417 attack percentage and six blocks.
Vanessa Latam ran the offense with 45 assists, and
Annika Flittie added nine kills. Smith finished with six aces and 16 digs.
Up Next:
The Saints return to conference action with matches against Ithaca and William Smith on Friday and Saturday respectively.
