PITTSFORD, NY – The University of Rochester picked up some key late season momentum on Wednesday night, defeating host Nazareth College 3-1 at Kidera Gymnasium.
 
Rochester earned the win with set victories of 25-13 in set one, 25-19 in set three and 25-17 in the fourth and final set.  Nazareth earned their set win by a 25-16 score in the second frame.  UR moves to 9-18 on the season while Nazareth falls to 10-14.
 
A quartet of players finished with eight kills for the Yellowjackets, Megan McHugh, Allie DeRubertis, Beth Ghyzel and Tamera Shaw.  Shaw and McHugh each added three blocks, while Ghyzel had four aces.  DeRubertis meanwhile recorded 15 digs.
 
UR's two setters were Isabelle Miranda (18 assists) and Renae Lapins (12 assists).  Sara Apanavicius recorded a team best 23 digs and had three aces.
 
Nazareth was led by Danielle Synowski who finished with 12 kills. Teammate Delaney Martin added 10 and Melissa Newcomb chipped in nine for the Golden Flyers.  McKenzie Hart had 2 digs and Synowski added four of Nazareth's six aces.
 
The key run in the first set was set up by a McHugh kill to pull UR up 9-7.  After that, McHugh served six straight points, boosting the Yellowjacket lead to 15-7.  DeRubertis was responsible for three straight points in the run, with two kills and a block.
 
Rochester then finished off the first set with seven straight points, aided by two Apanavicius aces.
 
In the second set, Nazareth jumped out to an early 11-4 lead and never looked back, earning the 25-16 win to even the match.
 
The third set was a back and forth affair until the Yellowjackets got a little separation at 16-12 with a 5-of-6 point run.  Shaw contributed a kill and block to give UR the lead.  Nazareth would get within three a couple of points later, but Rochester put it away with five straight points to surge ahead 23-15.  Two kills from DeRubertis and one each from Sonia McGaffigan and Ghyzel fueled the spurt.
 
Rochester earned an early lead in the fourth set and held off a Nazareth rally midway through the set to earn the victory.
 
Up next for UR is the New York Regional Challenge at RIT on November 1-2.  Rochester plays Montclair State on the opening day of the event and gets a rematch against Fredonia the following day.