GENESEO, NY – A terrific hitting performance from the University of Rochester volleyball team led to a non-conference 3-1 victory over SUNY Geneseo on Tuesday night at Carl Schrader Gymnasium.
 
Rochester (6-2) as a team combined to hit .271 in the match, including a .341 percentage in the deciding fourth set, swatting 61 total kills to just 19 attack errors in 155 attempts. Comparatively, Geneseo (2-5), ended with a .121 hitting percentage on the evening.
 
The Yellowjackets were paced by three players who had double-digit kills in Ana Cerezer (15), Sonia McGaffigan (15) and Areti Tsirikaki (13). Gillian Reeder was exceptional in the middle, swatting a career-high nine kills on just 12 attempts for a .750 hitting percentage.
 
Both Cerezer and Tsirikaki had double-doubles, adding 10-plus digs. Cerezer finished with a team high 18, while Tsirikaki picked up 12. Alexia Nelms added 13 to go along with 45 assists, while McGaffigan chipped in four blocks and five digs.
 
Katie Westerheim added five service aces for Rochester, while Cerezer completed her all-around night with three.
 
Geneseo was led by Linda Rossi who had 14 kills and 11 digs. Madison Gamberg had seven kills and five blocks, while Emily Haber led the Knights defense with 20 digs.
 
In the first set, Rochester trailed 14-12 near the midway point, but used a big rally, scoring 11 of the next 12 points to surge ahead 23-15. McGaffigan had three kills in the spurt, while Cerezer unleashed two aces. UR would go on to win the set 25-17.
 
It was in the same part of the second set that Rochester again pulled away in the 25-20 set win. After sitting tied at 10-all, a Geneseo service error and kills from Caroline Hoag and Cerezer made it 13-10 Rochester. The Knights got two points back before the Yellowjackets nabbed seven of the next eight to grab a 20-13 advantage. Cerezer had three kills in the run, with McGaffigan and Nelms adding two blocks each.
 
Geneseo battled back with a third set win, scoring the final nine points to earn a 25-22 win. Isabella Imbo started the rally with back-to-back kills and then added two aces before Rossi finished off the set with two kills on the final three points.
 
In the fourth, Rochester grabbed an early 6-3 lead behind multiple kills from McGaffigan and Cerezer. A six-point spurt made the score 16-7 and Rochester never looked back, earning the 25-22 win to clinch the match.
 
The Yellowjackets now shift their focus to the first of three UAA Round Robin events which takes place in St. Louis this Saturday and Sunday at WashU. Rochester takes on Chicago and Emory on Saturday before ending the weekend against Case Western Reserve on Sunday.