LOUIS ALEXANDER PALESTRA – University of Rochester volleyball swept their first two matches of the 2022 UR Invitational, defeating Medaille University, 3-0, before battling back from an early deficit to top SUNY Oneonta, 3-1.
 
With the two wins, UR moves to 2-0 on the year, while Medaille ended the day 0-2, and Oneonta at 0-1.
 
GAME ONE: ROCHESTER 3, MEDAILLE 0
After a bit of a back-and-forth start between the Mavericks and Yellowjackets, UR opened up their lead with a 4-0 run, retaking serve on Avery Ang's service error, before kills by Gillian Reeder and Ruby Moore, as well as Sonia McGaffigan's ace, extended UR's lead to 9-4.
 
The Mavericks pulled back within three, but the Yellowjackets reeled off another run, scoring four-straight, including a pair of aces by Moore, to double-up Medaille, 14-7, before pulling away with a 10-0 run, highlighted by four, La'I Yuen service aces, to bring up set point.
 
Down 24-9, Medaille rattled off three straight, before an attack error by Chase Leubeck gave UR a 25-12 set-one victory.
 
The Yellowjackets then kept things rolling into set two, reeling off five straight to open the second set, and 10 of the first 11 points to open a 10-1 lead, forcing the Mavericks to spend a timeout.
 
Three services aces by Katie Westerheim and Yuen highlighted the 10-1 run, and UR kept things going out of the Maverick's timeout, scoring three of the next five to take a 13-3 lead.
 
Four points later, Reeder made it 15-5 and though the Mavericks pulled within seven twice over the final stretch, Ana Cerezer slowed a run with a kill off Westerheim's assist, before McGaffigan made it 23-16 and Cerezer finished off the set with a pair of service aces to give UR a 25-16 set win and a 2-0 lead.
 
UR again started hot to open the third set, eventually taking a 10-5 lead on Caroline Hoag's kill. Yuen then capped off a 3-0 run with one of her seven service aces, extending the 'Jackets' lead to 13-6.
 
Down the stretch, the Mavericks would make a run of their own, pulling within four, 19-15, on Halle Bogas' kill, but Rochester responded with four-straight of their own, and after another Bogas kill made it 23-16, Ruby Moore and Alexia Nelms finished off the match with a kill and ace.
 
McGaffigan led UR with a game-high 10 kills, while Nelms notched a game-high 27 assists. Yeun set a new career-high with seven aces, and defensively, Cerezer led the way with nine digs.
 
As a team, the 'Jackets led Medaille in nearly every category, tallying 33 kills and a program-record of 21 aces.
 
GAME TWO: ROCHESTER 3, ONEONTA 1
Cerezer got things started for the Yellowjackets in their second match of the day against Oneonta, but the Red Dragons pulled ahead early, opening up a 7-2 lead on a pair of service aces and an attack error.
 
Oneota led by as many as six until UR pulled back with a bit of run, cutting the Red Dragons' lead to 12-9 and 14-11. But SUNY Oneonta kept the 'Jackets at an arm's length, preventing UR from getting any closer.
 
A 5-0 Red Dragons' run made it 23-14, and though the Yellowjackets answered with three-straight out of a timeout, Oneonta finished off set one with a 25-17 victory.
 
The Yellowjackets though would respond in set two. SUNY Oneonta again went up early on UR, taking leads of 7-6, 9-6, and 11-8 in the early going.
 
Rochester responded with four-in-a-row, two off Cerezer kills, to take their first lead since being up 2-1, and then added two more after the Red Dragons tied things up to make it 14-12.
 
From there, the two sides traded points until, up 15-14, Rochester notched six of the next seven points to take a 21-15 lead.
 
The Red Dragons would come roaring back, pulling within two, 23-21, on an attack error, but UR settled down out of a timeout and finished off the set with another Cerezer kill to even the match at one set apiece.
 
The 'Jackets then got things rolling in set three, racing out to an 8-3 lead on back-to-back blocks by McGaffigan and Moore to force Oneonta to use an early timeout.
 
SUNY Oneonta would twice pull within two, but each time the Yellowjackets had an answer, before rattling off five of the next six, up 12-10, to make it 17-11.
 
The Red Dragons used another timeout, but the Yellowjackets and Red Dragons traded barbs for much of the rest of the way, as UR finished off the set with three Cerezer kills up 22-16, 23-17, and 24-18 to take a 2-1 match lead.
 
In set four, Rochester again jumped out to an early lead and led by as many as five following back-to-back kills by Moore and Areti Tsirikaki, and a Red Dragons' attack error.
 
Oneonta though would pull within two on Ashanti Davis' kill, before a 6-0 run gave the Red Dragons their first lead of the fourth set, 17-14.
 
Rochester though, quickly tied things up with four of the next five, evening the set at 18-all on Reeder's kill.
 
Clara Culeton made it 19-18 Oneonta, but Moore and Reeder answered with a block and Reeder followed with a kill to take a 20-19 lead.
Oneonta again tied it, before Rochester again pulled ahead, this time on another Moore kill and ace, forcing Oneota to take spend their final timeout.
 
The Red Dragons would pull within one on an attack error, but UR scored the next three to finish off the set on McGaffigan's kill, and pick up a 2-1 victory.
 
Moore turned in a stellar performance in just her second career game, tallying a team-high 13 kills to go along with seven digs, four block assists and an ace.
 
Nelms again led UR with 41 assists, while Cerezer, Tsirikaki and Yuen recorded 15, 11 and 10 digs apiece.
 
The Yellowjackets will wrap up the UR Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 3, with matches against Buffalo State at 11 a.m., and Penn St. Behrend at 3 p.m. inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.