The Geneseo women's volleyball team finished 3-2 in five matches during last weekend's SUNYAC West Pool Play at Schrader Gym, bringing their season record to 10-10.
In the first of two matches on Friday, the Knights scored a resounding victory over Morrisville with scores of 30-19, 30-23 and 30-22. Sophomore Laura Lobaugh paced the Geneseo offense with 17 assists in the blowout.
The second match on Friday pitted Geneseo against the 1-14 Buffalo State Bengals. The Knights were widely expected to steamroll the Bengals, and they didn't disappoint, winning 30-19, 30-13 and 30-15. Lobaugh had another solid performance with 16 assists - 15 of which were turned into kills by the trio of senior Courtney Nash, sophomore Lauren Lesce and senior Jessi Laemlein.
Following their impressive Friday wins, hopes were high for the Knights heading into the final three matches on Saturday. Geneseo was in for a challenge against Brockport, and did their best to rise to the occasion in an epic, back-and-forth five-game match. After the first four games seesawed 30-28, 25-30, 30-18 and 24-30, the Golden Eagles got the best of the Knights in the rubber game, pulling away 15-11 to win the match. Sophomore Maddy Maler dished out 32 assists and sophomore Jess McKenna did her part with 18 digs.
The Knights rebounded nicely in their next match against the 6-12 Oswego Lakers. Led by the 10 kills of freshman Krista Frieling, Geneseo rolled to a 30-25, 30-24, 30-18 victory. Nash and senior Kate Barth contributed six kills apiece in the triumph.
In their last match of the SUNYAC Pool Play, the Knights were pitted against the archrival Fredonia Blue Devils. The Blue Devils played flawlessly in sweeping the match 30-19, 30-17, 30-15. Laemlein had nine kills and Maler handed out 12 assists in the loss. Geneseo finished the weekend 3-2 in SUNYAC play, good for third place in the six-team West division.
Sophomore Jess McKenna said that the team was satisfied with its performance in the first round of pool play. "The teams kept getting progressively harder, we just wanted to hold it together. Overall, we're happy with the outcome," she said.
The 10-10 Knights travel to Oneonta for a tournament this weekend before returning home to face Cortland next Wednesday.