University of Rochester women's volleyball earned wins in both ends of its Senior Day Tri-Match on Saturday, topping Fredonia State, 3-1, and Neumann University, 3-0, on Court A inside the Goergen Athletic Center.
With the two wins, the Yellowjackets move back above .500 at 9-8 on the year, while the Knights, following their win over Fredonia in the neutral-site match, move to 6-10, and the Blue Devils fall to 6-8.
MATCH ONE: Rochester 3, Fredonia 1
The Yellowjackets hit just 0.059 in the opening set, versus 0.122 for the Blue Devils, as Fredonia took the lead midway through the first set and led the rest of the way.
A service error gave URochester the first points of the match, but the Blue Devils answered back with six of the next seven points to take a lead. The 'Jackets kept things close throughout the set, pulling within a point on
Myla Nover-Estes' service ace, and within two later on Nover-Estes' kill.
Trailing 22-20, though following a kill from
Emilyn Dienger, the Blue Devils rallied for the final three points of the set to take it, 25-20.
Rochester would up its hitting percentage to .371 in the second set, sending over 17 kills as the 'Jackets looked to knot the match up at one set apiece.
Maren Smith and
Lilly Kraemer got the Yellowjackets started with back-to-back kills, but a 6-0 Blue Devil run would give Fredonia its first lead of the set.
However, the Yellowjackets answered back with two 4-0 spurts, the first coming on
Lydia Weeks' serve and keyed by both a kill and block from
Ellen Porter, while the second saw Dienger send over a trio of kills.
Fredonia took a timeout following Dienger's third kill, with Rochester leading 13-12, but Dienger would smash another out of the timeout, while
Juliette Azzariti notched an ace to make it a three-point Rochester advantage.
Two points to answer from Fredonia cut the 'Jackets' lead to two, but that'd be as close as the Blue Devils would get the rest of the way. Dienger notched another kill, while Smith added to more, before kills from Porter and Emila Cruz helped stretch Rochester's lead to six.
The 'Jackets would take the set, 25-18, to level the match at one-all, and head into the third set, looking to wrest control of the match. The third set featured seven ties and two lead changes, with the Blue Devils leading early and Rochester taking control late.
Fredonia stretched its lead out to six, 15-9, midway through the third set, before Rochester made its first run, cutting the deficit to three. Kills from Cruz, Kraemer and Smith, made it a three-point game, while another from Porter cut the Blue Devils' lead to three, 17-14, just two points later.
The Blue Devils went back up four and forced Rochester to take a timeout, but a 7-0 stretch saw the Yellowjackets climb back into it, tying the score at 22-all on Azzariti's ace. Azzariti's ace was one of two over the seven-point stretch, while Dienger, Kraemer and Smith all contributed kill.
Tied at 22, the two sides went back and forth with ties at 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27-all, before an attack error put the 'Jackets up 28-27. Fredonia took its final timeout, but Kraemer finished off the set with a kill, giving Rochester a 2-1 match lead.
Rochester would then finish things off in the fourth set, racing out to an early lead and leading by as many as 12 before Kraemer again finished things off with a kill.
Emma McCrann's ace made it 9-3 and forced Fredonia to spend its first timeout, while down 17-8, the Blue Devils took their second. Two more Fredonia attack errors extended the Yellowjackets' lead to 21-9, while Weeks' service ace brought up match point, before Kraemer finished things off with a kill.
Dienger led the Yellowjackets with 15 kills, while Nover-Estes added 11 and Kraemer fell just short of double figures with nine. Azzariti had a team-high three aces and tied
Iliana Balaskas for a team-high 20 assists.
Defensively, Weeks tallied 20 digs, while Balaskas had 12 and McCrann notched nine, while Kramer, Nover-Estes and Porter each totaled a block.
As a team, Rochester sent over 54 kills, compared to just 40 for the Blue Devils, and outhit Fredonia, 0.172 to 0.073.
MATCH TWO: Rochester 3, Neumann 0
After celebrating its senior class, the Yellowjackets won a competitive set one, 25-20, that featured eight ties and four lead changes. Kills from Nover-Estes and Balaskas got the 'Jackets started, while a block from Kraemer and Smith leveled the score at 10-all.
Rochester took control of the set on Nover-Estes and Weeks' serves, turning a 13-11, two-point deficit into a three-point, 19-16 lead and forcing Neumann to use a timeout following Porter's kill.
Porter notched a block and then a kill to put the 'Jackets up 19-16, while Kraemer added a kill out of the timeout to make it 20-16 UR. Three more Yellowjacket points after the Knights pulled within two forced another Neumann timeout, while kills from Smith and Nover-Estes finished off the set, 25-20, in favor of URochester.
The Yellowjackets then took control and rolled to a 25-11 set-two win, using a 7-2 run to jump ahead 15-8, with back-to-back Nover-Estes' kills, as well as another Kraemer ace, forcing the Knights to take a timeout.
Up 17-10, Rochester would then surge to victory, scoring nine of the final 10 points of the set, again coming on Nover-Estes and Weeks' serve.
Paige Stephenson and Porter combined for a block to make it 21-11, while Dienger sent over a kill before Weeks' ace gave the 'Jackets the set, 25-11.
The third set would prove to be much closer, as the Knights looked to avoid the sweep, with five ties and a single lead change, all coming early on in the set.
Neumann led early, following ties at 1-1, 3-3 and 4-4, but out of a timeout and down 10-6, the Yellowjackets made their run. Rochester scored five straight, four on
Raquel Morales' serve, to take an 11-10 lead on Morales' ace, and then notched four more to go up 15-11 and force the Knights to take a timeout of their own.
The 'Jackets kept the points coming through, with a service error and an ace stretching Rochester's advantage to five, and while one last Neumann run would pull the Knights within two, they wouldn't get any closer.
Nover-Estes responded with a kill to slow a 4-0 Knights' run, while a block from Dienger and Stephenson swung things back in Rochester's favor. A few points later, Dienger's kill brought up match point, and though the Knights would hold it off three times, a service error eventually gave the Yellowjackets the set, 25-21, and the match, 3-0.
Nover-Estes led the 'Jackets with 15 kills and three aces, while Balaskas had a team-high 17 assists.
McKenzie McDonald also dished out 15 and tied Nover-Estes for a team-high three aces, while Weeks and Balaskas led UR defensively with 12 and 10 digs apiece.
Rochester outhit Neumann, 0.247 to 0.099, and sent over 38 kills on 36 assists, compared to just 22 kills for the Knights.
The Yellowjackets next travel to New York, NY, for the University Athletic Association's Round Robin #1, hosted by NYU. Rochester will continue conference play with matchups against Emory and host NYU on Sunday, Oct. 11, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
