ALEXANDER PALESTRA – Rochester split its first two matches in the 2021 UR Volleyball Invitational on Friday evening. The Yellowjackets defeated Buffalo State College, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-19) before dropping a 3-2 decision to Smith College (16-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-17, 13-15). UR is 2-1. Matches are scheduled for 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm in the Palestra and on Court A of the Goergen Athletic Center.
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At 11 am, Rochester will play Oneonta State in the Palestra. That will be followed by RIT against Oneonta at 1 pm and Rochester against Medaille at 3 pm. On Goergen Court A, Smith takes on Medaille College at 11 and Buffalo State at 1 pm. RIT closes the tournament with a 3 pm match against Buffalo State in Goergen.
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UR-Buffalo State: The Yellowjakets hit a collective .299 in the three matches against the Bengals. Rochester hit .382 in the first set, .227 in the second set, and .310 in the third set. Buffalo State hit .250 in the opening set, but hit below .200 in the last two sets.
Cerezer had 10 kills and three aces.
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Ella Sokolowski and Megan Getz led the Yellowjackets with 11 kills apiece.
Ana Cerezer had 10 kills.
Zaira Reyes had 34 kills.
Lauren Lopez dug 10 balls. Getz had eight digs, Sokolowski finished with six. The Yellowjackets finished with 12 aces. Cerezer had three as did Reyes. Sokolowski had two.
Kaylin Williams  totaled four blocks. Sokolowski had three and
Kellie McCrea had three.
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For Buffalo State, Alena McKelvey had nine blocks and Eden Harrison finished with eight. The Bengals had 41 digs, 16 by Jenna Hugenschmidt. McKelvey added six. Riley Domin had 16 assists. Abby Verner added eight Samantha Coakley and Harrison had two blocks apiece.
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UR-Smith: The Pioneers played well at the net, hitting .205 with 51 kills and 12 blocks. Abby Sweeney had 18 kills, Olivia Smith had 13, and Kinsey Cronin added 12. Ava Zollinger had seven blocks, Sweeney added six, and Cronin had four. The playmaker was setter Nathaie Pak who registered 41 assists. Gabby Beckman had 28 digs, Ari Cross had 14, and Smith chipped in with nine.
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For Rochester, Getz had 16 kills. Sokolowski had 13, and McCrea had eight. Reyes had 40 assists. The digs leaders were Cerezer with 13, Reyes with 12, and
Megan Hauer with 11.
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