University of Rochester Athletics

The University of Rochester women's volleyball opened its home slate and the 2026 UR Invitational with a five-set win over the Alfred University Saxons, before falling to the Smith College Bears, 3-1, on Friday inside the Louis Alexander Palestra. With the split, the Yellowjackets move to 4-2 on the year, while Alfred, following its two matches at the invitational, stands at 2-3, and Smith remains unbeaten at 6-0 with victories over Clarkson and URochester.
 
MATCH ONE: Rochester 3, Alfred 2
The Saxons jumped ahead early in the opening set against UR, scoring the first three points of the match on Meeghan Peterson's serve, while a 5-0 spurt forced Rochester to take a timeout down 12-7. Alfred kept things rolling out of the timeout, though, opening a 16-8 advantage, as the Saxons sent over three aces over the nine-point stretch.
 
Trailing 16-8, the Yellowjackets clawed back within five, 17-12, on Maren Smith's kill, but another spurt from the Saxons forced Ladi Iya to call another timeout.
 
Following another ace and URochester service error, the Yellowjackets trailed 22-13, but a 9-0 run, eight points of which came on Lydia Weeks' serve, saw the 'Jackets pull within a point. Weeks sent over an ace, while Claire Feczko and Ellen Porter contributed kills to make it a 22-21 Alfred lead.
 
And while the Saxons pulled back ahead by two on an attack error, Rochester answered back with the final four points of the set, taking the opening set, 25-23, behind another two kills from Feczko and Porter, as well as Iliana Balaskas' ace.
 
Rochester then took control of the match in the second set, reeling off the first five points of the set on Juliette Azzariti's serve, with kills from Myla Nover-Estes, Porter and Paige Stephenson, as well as Azzariti's ace.
 
The lead would remain at five for much of the early going, until a 6-0 Rochester run saw UR take a commanding 22-11 advantage. Feczko won Rochester the serve with a kill, and made it a 17-11 advantage, while Valeria Berrios Puig sent over a trio of aces as part of five-straight serves.
 
And with three of the next six points, Rochester would take a 2-0 match lead with a 25-14 set-two win, finishing things off with another Nover-Estes' kill.
 
However, the Saxons would flip the script in the third and eventually fourth set, holding off a potential Rochester sweep. A 7-0 Alfred run midway through the third set gave the Saxons a 19-10 advantage. And while Rochester twice pulled within six late, a service error would finish things off, 25-18, in favor of Alfred.
 
Then in set four, Rochester led early, 9-4, before the Saxons doubled up UR over the next nine points, pulling within a point, 11-10, and forcing a Iya to spend an early timeout. The 'Jackets regrouped and extended their lead back to five, 18-13, behind a pair of aces from Berrios Puig, but again, the Saxons closed the gap.
 
Three-straight errors helped pull the Saxons within three, while Abigail Omelan's ace made it a one-point, 20-19 game. Three points later, Cara Bratthauar tied the score at 21-all with a kill, as Alfred rallied off the last five points of the set to knot the match up at two sets apiece and force a decisive fifth set.
 
In the fifth set though, the Yellowjackets would jump ahead early, with a kill from Nover-Estes and a block from Nover-Estes and Stephenson to get the set started on the right foot. Three-straight kills from Lilly Kraemer and Porter made it a 9-3 advantage, but the Saxons would make one last push to pull within two, 10-8.
 
An attack error gave Rochester the service back, though, and Stephenson and Feczko tallied back-to-back blocks to put URochester back up five.  The Saxons wouldn't come any close than three the rest of the way, before an attack error gave the 'Jackets a 15-11 fifth-set win, and a 3-2 match victory to open the UR Invitational.
 
Offensively, Nover-Estes had a team-high 19 kills, while Porter added 13. Azzariti (23) and Balaskas (20) each dished out 20+ assists, while Berrios Puig had a career-high seven aces.
 
On the receiving end, Weeks had a game-high 20 digs, while Berrios Puig and Nover-Estes each had nine. Stephenson led the 'Jackets with five blocks, including two solo, while Nover-Estes had three block assists.
 
MATCH TWO: Smith 3, Rochester 1
Back on the court after a break between matches, the Yellowjackets and Bears traded runs in the opening set. A 5-0 spurt, highlighted by two Feczko kills, gave Rochester the early lead, while Smith answered back with a 5-1 run to take a 10-8 lead on Sara Warren and Uma Schulz's block.
 
Nover-Estes sent over back-to-back kills to level the score at 10-all, before the Bears took the lead again. A 7-2 run, though, would put the Yellowjackets up for good and force Smith to call a timeout trailing 18-15.
 
Two more back-to-back kills from Feczko capped off the run and forced the Smith timeout, while another kill from Feczko as well as one from Nover-Estes kept Rochester in front, 21-18, after the Bears pulled within one.
 
Smith took another timeout after Nover-Estes made it a 22-19 set-one lead, while Smith's kill from Balaskas made it a four-point lead out of the timeout.
 
And while the Bears closed the gap to two again late, holding off set point with Alison Chapin's kill, Porter finished off the set with a kill from Weeks to put UR up 1-0.
 
Smith, though, would answer back and push ahead early in set two, taking a 10-4 lead early, and then answering Rochester's run to pull within two with a 5-0 spurt of their own. Two aces from Skye Higashihara helped put the Bears up 17-10, and while the 'Jackets kept things close down the stretch, Smith would ultimately finish off the 25-19 set-two victory.
 
The Bears then took control in the third set, outhitting the Yellowjackets, .400 to -.033. Following a back-and-forth early going, Smith raced out to a 17-7 advantage and led by as many as 13 in the third set.
 
Hana Suzuki's service ace put the Bears up 21-8, while a block from Warren and Anna Feuer brought up set point, with Smith leading 24-12, before an attack error gave the Bears a 25-12 set-three victory.
 
And despite an early lead in the fourth set, the Bears would finish off the match in four, responding to Rochester's 7-1 run to go up three with a 10-2 stretch, taking a 19-14 lead on another Suzuki ace.
 
The Yellowjackets would close the gap with a final push, pulling with three, 22-19, on Nover-Estes' kill, but Feuer won the serve back for the Bears, while Chapin's ace finished off the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-1.
 
Nover-Estes again led the Yellowjackets with 14 kills, while Feczko had nine and Porter contributed eight. Azzariti and Balaskas both had 18 assists, while Weeks had 14 digs to lead UR defensively, and Nover-Estes notched 12 for a double-double.
 
Rochester will resume play at the UR Invitational with a Saturday morning matchup against Lewis & Clark on Sept. 12 at 11:00 a.m., then wrap up the two-day event against Clarkson at 3:00 p.m. Both matches will be played inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.