The William Smith College volleyball team earned its third straight conference win as the Herons swept RIT 3-0 this evening in its Liberty League regular-season finale. William Smith moves to 13-8 overall with a 6-2 mark in conference play, while the Tigers fall to 8-18 overall and 3-4 in the Liberty League.
William Smith combined for 34 kills as a team compared to RIT’s 22. The Herons hit .143 through three sets while keeping the Tigers to a .047 hitting percentage. William Smith continued to show strong from the service line and combined for 15 aces in the sweep.
Leading the way for the Herons was sophomore Malya Sayre with 11 kills on only four errors, hitting .280. She added five digs, four solo blocks and one service ace in the win. Junior setter Elaina Wamhofftallied six kills on zero errors, hitting an impressive .545.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- William Smith came out strong in the opening set, putting down 10 kills, hitting .269 as a team. The Herons kept RIT to only five kills, hitting -.074 as William Smith grabbed a convincing 25-16 set one win.
- The Tigers responded well in set two, hitting .194 as a team compared to the Herons’ .097. Despite outhitting William Smith, the back-and-forth set with 17 ties between the teams would end in a 25-23 win for the Herons. Sophomore Cydney Fernandez came up huge for William Smith with two service aces late in the set to grab the win.
- The Herons continued to shine in set three, keeping the Tigers to only five kills (.000) for the second set of the night. Wamhoff went on a run from the service line late in the set, collecting four aces to complete the conference sweep. Wamhoff and sophomore Marin Montagne led William Smith with four kills each in the final set.
MATCH STATS:
- Sayre led the Herons with 11 kills (.280), followed by sophomore Jaylynn McCarthy with eight (.100). Montagne (.000) and Wamhoff (.545) chipped in six kills each.
- Wamhoff recorded 25 assists, six kills, five service aces, five digs and one block in the win.
- First-year Maysie Malinaric compiled a team-leading 11 digs, while Montagne chipped in nine. McCarthy added seven while Wamhoff and Sayre recorded five each.
- William Smith dominated from the service line, combining for 15 as a team. Wamhoff led the way with five as McCarthy and Fernandez chipped in three each. Sophomore Kenyce Johnson added two in the sweep.
- The Herons played strong at the net, tallying seven blocks as a team. Sayre recorded a team-leading four solo blocks, while Montagne and McCarthy added two block assists each.
COACHES CORNER:
“Tonight was a great match for us!” said Head Coach Derryk Williams. “e needed a win and did it in great fashion. Malya and Elaina were both excellent and stepped up big time! I’m really happy with the way we competed and looking forward to seeing how everything unfolds this week.”
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 28, when it heads to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for two nonconference matches against Carnegie Mellon and Randolph-Macon to close out its regular season. First serve between the Herons and the Tartans is set for 11 a.m., followed by action with the Yellow Jackets at 1 p.m. in Weigand Gymnasium on the campus of Carnegie Mellon.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].