The St. Lawrence University volleyball team began their season with a 3-0 win at SUNY Potsdam on Tuesday night at Maxcy Hall Field House, taking sets by scores of 25-18, 25-23 and 25-16.
That brings the Saints' overall record to 1-0 entering a busy weekend at the North Country Classic.Â
"It wasn't the sharpest start to the season but that's to be expected," said Saints head coach
Shelly Roiger. "Our defense and ball control kept us in the game and led to more offensive opportunities. Our ability to win the first-contact battle played a huge role in the scoreboard. There's no lack of things to work on as we continue to prepare for three opponents this weekend and with one of our players nearing a career milestone, there will be added excitement and hopefully multiple reasons to celebrate in our home opener on Friday."
St. Lawrence jumped out of the gate quickly with a burst of offense to kick off their 2026 season, opening up a 6-2 lead early. They led by as much as 8-3 in the opening set before Potsdam climbed back into the game down 10-8. The Saints then rattled off seven straight points in a balanced offensive display featuring multiple kills from
Araiza Acum-Santos, forcing a Bears timeout down 17-8. St. Lawrence cruised to a 25-16 set victory.
The second set was the most competitive set of the match, with the Saints winning the final two points of the set to win it 25-23 following a hotly contested battle with multiple lead changes. Potsdam led 3-0 early before the Saints rallied to score 15 of the next 20 points of the set, commanding a 15-8 lead. The Bears scraped back into it before a Potsdam attack error and
Cassady Smith ace sent the Saints to a 2-0 match lead.
The teams traded points early in the third, before St. Lawrence put together the first run of the set in a 4-4 tie. They went up 7-4 on three straight points including two
Vanessa Latam service aces. That gave the Saints a lead they would not relinquish until the end of the match.
Acum-Santos led all players with 13 kills on .133 hitting to go with eight digs. Latam ran the offense with 29 assists, adding four kills and a block.
Bridget Gammons added seven kills and paced the team with three aces on 19 serve attempts.
Cassady Smith anchored the back row with 15 digs, and
Audrey Bibbins contributed four kills and two blocks.
Kalina Natcheva chipped in three kills, and
McKayla Pollard rounded out the attack for the Saints.
Defensively, St. Lawrence out-dug Potsdam 49-42 and finished with three total blocks against the Bears' four.
The Saints will resume the non-conference portion of their 2026 schedule Friday in the North Country Classic.
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