SELINSGROVE, PA – The University of Rochester Volleyball team wrapped up play at the Susquehanna River Hawk Classic on Saturday, winning a pair of matches to finish the tournament with a 2-1 record overall the two-day event.
 
After dropping a tough 5-set match against host Susquehanna on Friday, Rochester (14-16) posted a thrilling 3-2 win over a tough William Smith College (21-4) squad to open Saturday's action, before closing the event with a 3-1 win against Stevenson University (13-16).
 
In Saturday's opener against William Smith, Rochester took the opening two sets by 25-23 and 25-16 scores. The Herons responded in a similar fashion to UR's comeback attempt in Friday night's loss, winning sets three and four to force a deciding fifth set. The Yellowjackets and Herons battled in the deciding set, with UR eventually needing an extra point to pull out the victory with a 16-14 score.
 
Rochester's Rylee Bergeron finished with a match-high 17 kills, while Ashley Cook smacked 14 in the win. Bergeron and Lydia Weeks each picked up 25 digs, while Cook also had a double-double with 16 digs.
 
Setter Alexia Nelms handed out 42 assists and had an additional 11 digs and 5 kills. In the match, Nelms became just the eighth player in Rochester volleyball history to hit the 2,000-assist plateau. Her total across 90 career matches now sits at 2,063.
 
In the opening set, Rochester needed a late rally after trailing William Smith 21-19. Two kills from Myla Nover-Estes knotted the score and Rochester closed with four of the next six points to swipe a tight set one. Ruby Moore laced a kill for set-ending point.
 
Set two saw the Yellowjackets jump ahead early and cruise to the 25-16 victory. An early run, paced by kills from Cook, Bergeron, Moore and Nover-Estes saw the 'Jackets lead 9-2. A four-point spurt later in the set included two more Nover-Estes kills saw the Yellowjackets double up the Herons 18-9 on the scoreboard. Kills from cook and Nover-Estes established Rochester up with a set point that was earned on a William Smith error.
 
A back-and-forth third set saw the teams trade runs throughout, with the score eventually reaching 20-all. After a Heron block nudged them in front, kills from Nelms and Nover-Estes gave Rochester a 22-21 lead. The Herons rattled off the next three points to earn a pair of set points, eventually earning the 25-23 win following a kill from Malya Sayre.
 
The fourth set saw William Smith break open a close contest with a 6-point run late. That moved a Heron 18-16 lead to 23-16. UR tried to stay alive, earning three straight points, but William Smith recovered after a few errors to swipe the 25-19 win and send the match to a fifth game.
 

Rochester score back-to-back points three times in the early going of the fifth set, establishing a 7-4 lead. After William Smith got within one, the 'Jackets rattled off four straight points, including a pair of Bergeron service aces to jump ahead 11-6.
 
The Herons battled back to get within one at 13-12, but a Cook kill gave the Yellowjackets a two looks to clinch the match. An attack error by Rochester and a William Smith ace kept the Herons in the running, leveling the score at 14-14. UR fended off the Herons though, earning a kill from Nover-Estes to get back on top, with a setting error on William Smith serving as the deciding point.
 
Closing out the weekend, four Rochester players ended with double-digit kills in the win over Stevenson. Nover-Estes had 17 kills and finished with a .556 hitting percentage on 27 swings. Caroline Hoag had a 12-kill performance with no errors, finishing with a .545 percentage in the match.
 
Others with double-digit kills were Bergeron who finished with 14 and Cook who ended with 10. Cook had her second double-double in as many matches, scooping up 17 digs.
 
Nelms had 48 more assists in the nightcap, also chipping in three aces and seven digs. Katie Westerheim also served three aces and Rochester as a team finished with 12, ranking as the second most in a match this season.
 
UR came out of the gate firing, jumping on the Mustangs 10-2 after the first 12 points of the match. Nover-Estes and Hoag each had two kills in the early run, while Weeks added two service aces. The Yellowjackets kept Stevenson at bay for much of the set, eventually earning the 25-14 set win.
 
In the second, Stevenson earned the early lead, sitting up four at 9-5. Four straight points from Rochester knotted the score and it remained close until the Mustangs broke a 17-all tie with a 4-point run later on. Rochester stopped the run with a kill from Maren Smith, but Stevenson rattled off four more points in a row to clinch the set 25-18.
 
The Yellowjackets responded well in the third set, setting up a 25-13 win with a huge early lead once again. A Westerheim ace pushed Rochester's lead to 9-2, and the Yellowjackets never allowed the Mustangs to get closer than six points the rest of the set. Kills from Cook and Nover-Estes were followed by a Nelms ace to put Rochester up 2-1 overall in the match.
 
During the fourth set, the teams traded small runs of points in the initial stretch. With UR sitting up three, at 14-11, Stevenson scored five of the next six points to rally back, taking a 16-15 lead.
 
The Yellowjackets were determined to avoid another 5-set match though, with UR scoring eight of the next nine points to vault into the lead, 23-17. Bergeron had three kills in the rush that put the 'Jackets within striking distance of the match.
 
Stevenson refused to go down without a fight though, scoring four straight to make the score 23-21, but kills from Nelms and Hoag were sandwiched around a Stevenson point and Rochester earned the match victory with a 25-22 set win.
 
Rochester now returns home and will host the UAA conference tournament next weekend in the Palestra and Goergen Athletic Center on Friday and Saturday. The eight-team championship tournament will feature 12 matches over two days, with the winner earning the UAA's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament.