BUFFALO, NY – The University of Rochester women's volleyball wrapped up the regular season with two wins, defeating St. John Fisher University and Buffalo State College, 3-2, on Saturday at the Sports Arena.
 
The Yellowjackets head into the 2022 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships at 13-11, while Fisher moves to 19-7 on the year, and Buffalo State falls to 12-11.
 
MATCH ONE: ROCHESTER 3, ST. JOHN FISHER 2
Fisher raced out to an early lead in set one, scoring the first four points of the match and never looking back. The Cardinals led by as many as seven, 10-3, in the early going before Rochester used its first timeout.
 
UR scored five of the next eight to pull within five, but St. John Fisher kept things rolling with a 6-0 run of their own and finished off the set winning six of the final eight points to take the first set, 25-11.
 
Rochester though bounced right back and took an early lead of their own in set two. Highlighted by two aces by Katie Westerheim, the Yellowjackets scored five straight to open the set, but St. John Fisher answered right back to take a 6-5 lead.
 
Four-in-a-row from UR make it 9-6 in favor of the 'Jackets before kills from Sonia McGaffigan and Areti Tsirikaki forced Fisher to take a timeout, down 13-8.
 
On Lindsey DeBonis' ace, the Cardinals pulled within three, 16-13, but Gillian Reeder smashed a kill to slow Fisher's roll, and seven straight from the 'Jackets put the set out of reach for SJFU.
 
With Ruby Moore serving, Rochester smashed five kills and took advantage of two attack errors to go up 23-14 on McGaffigan's kill, finishing off the set on McGaffigan and Alexia Nelms block, 25-15, to even the match at one set apiece.
 
In what again proved to be a game of runs, Fisher jumped out to an early lead in set three. After the Cardinals raced out to a 6-1 lead, UR battled back to make it 6-5, before the two sides stood even at 10 and the Cardinals took a timeout.
 
St. John Fisher would go up 17-16 midway through the third, but Rochester answered back to take a 22-18 lead of their own.
 
However, Olivia Nellis answered with a kill, and Fisher would hold the Yellowjackets without a point the rest of the way, finishing the set with a 7-0 run and forcing UR to use both their timeouts en route to a 25-22, set-three win.
 
Fisher then looked to put UR away, but the Yellowjackets battled back, cutting into an early deficit on Moore and Tsirikaki kills and an ace by Ana Cerezer, before four-straight leveled the set at 13-all.
 
Three-straight Moore services aces brought UR back from down 13-10 before Rochester took their first lead of the fourth set since going up 5-4 on Tsirikaki's kill from Westerheim.
 
Up 15-14, UR rattled off one more before Fisher evened the score at 16, but the Yellowjackets answered with seven of the next eight, forcing the Cardinals to spend both of their timeouts, and taking a 23-17 lead on Nelms' ace.
 
Out of Fisher's second timeout, DeBonis made it 23-18, but Moore notched another kill to bring up set point, and Julia Chotiner served an ace to force a decisive fifth set.
 
Early on, Rochester and St. John Fisher battled back and forth, trading points until UR led 6-3, following McGaffigan and Reeder's kills.
 
Fisher answered back with a 6-0 run, going up 8-6 on a Rochester attack error, and then went up 13-8 to force the 'Jackets to take a timeout with match point in sight.
 
But the Yellowjackets came out of the timeout with a fury, winning back serve with a kill from Moore and adding two more to pull within two, 13-11, and force the Cardinals to spend a timeout.
 
It wouldn't matter though, as Rochester scored three more on kills from McGaffigan and Moore, taking the lead, setting up match point, and forcing Fisher to take another timeout.
 
But again, McGaffigan finished off the match with another kill out of the timeout, giving UR a come-from-behind, five-set victory.
 
McGaffigan led a trio of Rochester attackers with double-digit kills, tallying 20, while Moore and Tsirikaki added 12 and 10 apiece. McGaffigan hit a career-high .545 in the match, as Rochester hit .218, compared to just .190 for St. John Fisher.
 
Offensively, Nelms tallied a team-high 38 assists, while Moore added a career-high five aces, with Nelms and Tsirikaki each netting three.
 
Defensively, four 'Jackets notched double-digit assists, with Cerezer leading the way with 17. Nelms added a career-high 15 and Westerheim scored 14, while Tsirikaki added 11 for a double-double, one of two 'Jackets, along with Nelms, to notch a double-double in game one.  
 
MATCH TWO: ROCHESTER 3, BUFFALO STATE 2
Buffalo State scored the first points of the opening set against UR on a service error and made their way out to an early lead.
 
The Bengals led early, forcing Rochester to spend their first timeout after Erin Mergler gave Buffalo State a 9-4 lead, and kept the Yellowjackets at bay for much of the opening set.
 
Rochester would twice pull within three midway through the first set before the Bengals pressed out to a 20-13 advantage.
 
Down 22-14, Rochester pulled back within five, but Mergler setup set point following a bad set, and a service error gave the Bengals the set, 25-18.
 
But the Yellowjackets would come right back, trailing in the early goings of set two before pulling ahead and away late.
 
Three straight Buffalo State points with the score knotted at 14 forced Rochester to take a timeout. But out of the timeout, UR answered, evening the set at 18-all on back-to-back kills from Caroline Hoag and Nelms, as well as a Bengals' attack error.
 
Mergler made it 19-18 in favor of Buffalo State, but Rochester came right back to tie the set at 19-19 and again at 20-all, before reeling off one more to take a 21-20 lead.
 
With Rochester looking to tie things up and Buffalo State looking to take a 2-0 lead, the two sides stood tied at 22 and 23, before Tsirikaki smashed a kill to give UR a 24-23 lead, and McGaffigan finished off the set with a kill to even the match at one set apiece.
 
And while Buffalo State raced out to an 11-3 advantage to open the third set, Rochester battled back, pulling within one on a 6-0 run highlighted by two Tsirikaki kills.
 
The Bengals called a timeout, but the 'Jackets evened the set at 13-13, before pulling away with six of seven to take a 20-17 lead.
 
Buffalo State again pulled within one, but Rochester countered with three points of their own, and McGaffigan setup set point with one of her 38 kills on the day.
 
And while the Bengals held off set point twice, Reeder came out of the timeout and finished off the set with a kill, giving UR a 2-1 lead.
 
The two sides battled fiercely throughout the fourth set, with Rochester looking to finish things off, and Buffalo State looking to force a fifth.
 
Up 19-18, Buffalo State went up 21-18 with two more and kept the Yellowjackets at bay the rest of the way to force a fifth set with Samantha Coakley's kill, taking the set, 25-21.
 
After two early runs, UR and Buffalo State stood tied at three, before Rochester, again on Moore's serve, scored five straight to take an 8-3 lead.
 
An attack error slowed Rochester's roll, but a block by McGaffigan and Tsirikaki won the serve back, and with a bad set by the Bengals, UR went up 11-5.
 
Buffalo State would get no closer than five the rest of the way, as Reeder again finished off the set, 15-9, with a kill, giving Rochester its second, five-set win of the day.
 
McGaffigan again led Rochester with 18 kills, while Tsirikaki added 14 to go along with 13 digs.
 
Rounding out the 'Jackets' offensively, Nelms tallied a game-high 43 digs, while Reeder notched a career-high nine kills.
 
Defensively, four Yellowjackets again notched double-digit digs, with Tsirikaki and Westerheim each tallying a game-high 17, while Cerezer and Hoag tallied 13 and 10 digs, respectively.
 
As a team, Rochester hit .226 compared to just .095 for Buffalo State, smashing 59 kills.
 
Rochester opens the UAA Championships, hosted by NYU in Brooklyn, NY, as the No. 7 seed and will face No. 2-seeded Washington University in St. Louis on Friday, Nov. 4 at noon.