Annika Flittie led the St. Lawrence University volleyball team's offense with 11 kills, as the Saints rode a strong start to a four-set victory over SUNY Canton in a cross-town non-conference Match on Tuesday night.
"It wasn't a pretty win, but Canton always plays scrappy so they'll make you earn every point," said Saints head coach
Shelly Roiger. "We didn't execute our game plan as well as I had hoped but we found ways to win. I'm very proud of the team's come back in set two that really set the tone for the rest of the match."
"Playing the same team on consecutive weeks allows you to see where improvements have been made and I'm very proud of our passing tonight which nearly matched a season-best performance."
With the victory, the Saints have now won six of their last seven games, and improve to 9-7 on the season. They hold a 1-1 Liberty League mark as they return to league play this weekend.
The Saints controlled the opening set. St. Lawrence jumped in front 4-1 and led by as many as seven points before closing out the set 25-18. Canton hit minus-.237 in the frame with 13 attack errors.
The second set was tighter. SUNY Canton built a 16-10 lead, but the Saints answered with a 6-0 run to move in front 23-21 and carry the momentum late. Canton tied the set at 24-24, but St. Lawrence scored the final two points on the way to a 26-24 win and a 2-0 lead. Flittie closed the set with a kill.
St. Lawrence led early in the third set, going up 5-3 before Canton tied it at 5-5. The teams traded the lead through the first half before the visitors pulled away late. They led after 13-12 for the entirety of the third.
The Scarlet and Brown then turned in its best set of the night in the fourth and final set of the match. The Saints opened with a 5-0 run, led by as many as nine points and hit .333 with two errors on 33 attempts to win 25-16 and finish the match.
Flittie led the Saints with 11 kills and 12.5 points.
Bridget Gammons added nine kills, a solo block and two block assists, and
McKayla Pollard finished with seven kills.
Rowan Mottau dished out 18 assists, and
Vanessa Latam added 14 assists and eight digs.
Cassady Smith anchored the back row with 22 digs, and
Naiyah Reece had 10 digs and two aces.
The Saints return to conference action Friday when they head to Bard, and then Saturday they continue their Liberty League schedule when they play Vassar.
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