Sophomore middle blocker Bridget Lougen (pictured above) prepares herself for a kill against her opponent on Tuesday Oct. 2. The Knights came out of their home matchup against the Alfred University Saxons with a 3-1 victory at senior night for the team.
The Geneseo volleyball team celebrated their lone senior, setter Emily Ast, with a win against the Alfred University Saxons on Tuesday Oct. 2.
During the game, Ast set up the 3000th assist of her career for Geneseo. The Knights beat the Saxons in four sets, winning the first set, falling in a close second set and then going on to soundly win the last two.
Entering the game, the Knights held a record of 10-6 overall and 3-0 in their conference. The scores from Tuesday’s sets were 25-14, 24-26, 25-10 and 25-15. The victory advanced their record to 11-6 and forced Alfred to a 1-15 record overall.
Appearing in all four games, Ast made three kills, served three aces, dug 12 balls and set up 37 assists. First-year libero Mary Saladino contributed to the Knights’ success with three assists, five service aces and 17 digs. Junior outside hitter Grace Cergol swung for 16 kills, had two assists, two service aces and 10 digs.
Sophomore defensive specialist Alexandra Frank served an impressive eight aces, swung for one kill and dove for eight digs. Frank’s effort on the serves was noticeable as she helped the Knights to an early 6-0 lead in the third set and finished out that third game with steady service.
The Schrader Gymnasium was filled with cheers for the Knights. It was a special night for the volleyball fans in the stands—for every ace served by a Knight, a free T-shirt was thrown into the crowd.
The team secured a well-earned victory in what could have been a trap game for this unit. The Saxons rolled into Geneseo with just a 1-14 record and the Knights clearly outmatched them talent wise. It would have been easy for the women to take the night off, but they stayed true to who they were and got the win against a lesser opponent.
Up next for the Knights is a match against the SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles at Buffalo State on Friday Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. The Knights will then face SUNY Cortland on Oct. 6 at 12 p.m. and then SUNY Buffalo State at 2:30 p.m.
It will be a long weekend for the team as they look to improve their 3-0 conference record. Finishing at the top of the conference would be key for the Knights to position themselves to make a run deep into the SUNYAC tournament.
The team will stay at home once again on Tuesday Oct. 9. The fans will be looking forward to cheering on this talented Knights team in an electric Schrader Gymnasium atmosphere. This is a young team that has the potential to make an impact this season both in the conference and at the national level.