The women’s volleyball team hit a rough patch this past week, losing five matches in four days. The team has now dropped six in a row and has fallen to 11-12 on the season.
On Sept. 28, the Knights traveled to Roberts Wesleyan College and struggled offensively in the first two sets, losing 14-25 and 13-25, respectively. Geneseo played better in the third set, but lost 19-25 to cap the day.
Sophomore Noelle Morrison handed out 20 assists, while senior Kat Strickland and sophomore Ronnie Guszcza posted six and five kills respectively to lead Geneseo against the Raiders.
The Knights then had a day off before traveling again, this time to compete in the Nazareth College Invitational on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. The team hoped to finish the tournament 2-2, but fell short of that goal and lost all four matches over the two-day event.
Geneseo took on the Rochester Institute of Technology in its first match of the tournament, losing 11-25, 21-25, 25-20 and 12-25 in a highly competitive contest.
“We played well against RIT,” said head coach Jen Salmon. “It was the best volleyball I’ve seen them play in a while.”
Strickland and freshman Jessica Prater each recorded 12 kills against the Tigers, while junior Laura Galvin led the Knights with 16 digs. Morrison had a well-rounded day with 34 assists, five service aces and nine digs.
In their second match of the day the Knights played Heidelberg University (Ohio), currently No. 8-ranked nationally. Although Geneseo lost in straight sets, 11-25, 17-25 and 15-25, Salmon said she was glad to have had the opportunity to play such a highly ranked team.
“Heidelberg was a fun match,” Salmon said. “It’s so much fun to play a top 10 team.”
While the Knights played well in their Friday matches, they were outplayed by Medaille College and Nazareth College on Saturday.
Though the women swept Medaille on Sept. 16, they fell in four sets in the Oct. 1 rematch. Salmon said she was disappointed in the loss, calling it “the worst match of the weekend.”
Morrison led the Knights with a stunning 41 assists in the match, and also contributed nine digs.
Geneseo then lost in three sets to Nazareth College to finish the day. Despite playing well, the Knights were defeated 24-26, 16-25 and 20-25.
Salmon said her team “played well for the most part” and played hard despite their loss.
Strickland hammered nine kills for the Knights, while Galvin and senior Alex Hughes each contributed nine digs.
Morrison added 22 assists to finish the weekend with a total of 111, and was named to the All-Tournament team. Salmon praised Morrison’s performance and said, “She deserved it. She played really well.”
The Knights travel to RIT on Wednesday Oct. 5, and then return home to take on SUNYAC rival SUNY Cortland on Oct. 7.