With only one set loss in their first four matches, the Geneseo women’s volleyball team started their season off with an impressive 4-0 start. They had matches on both Friday Aug. 31 and Saturday Sept. 1.
The Knights defeated St. Lawrence University, Marywood University, Keuka College and the United States Coast Guard Academy by scores of 3-0, 3-0, 3-1 and 3-0, respectively.
The Knights now turn their attention to Ithaca College for their upcoming match at 3 p.m. on Friday Sept. 7. The team will stay in Ithaca for the weekend while they compete in the South Hill Classic along with Susquehanna University and Wesleyan University. It should be another competitive weekend for the women.
To recap this weekend’s highlights, senior setter Emily Ast stacked the assists statistic column with 24 assists versus St. Lawrence, 30 assists versus Keuka and 28 assists versus Coast Guard.
Junior outside hitter Abby May contributed 10 kills and eight digs versus Marywood. May also had 12 kills and eight digs versus Keuka. Junior outside hitter Grace Cergol had a great showing with 12 kills and nine digs versus both St. Lawrence and Marywood.
Cergol increased those numbers versus Keuka and Coast Guard with 14 kills in both matches and 10 more digs against Keuka.
Junior libero Sam Mendelsohn set sky high standards for her junior season by digging her 1000th ball in the first set of the season versus St. Lawrence. Mendelssohn had 13 digs total against St. Lawrence and 11 digs against Coast Guard.
The Knights attribute their weekend success to their dedication during the preseason. Junior middle blocker Kat Vernon was adamant about her team’s success.
“[The team] focused on ball control, serve receive, serving and lots more that you could clearly see all come together this past weekend,” Vernon said.
The highlight of the volleyball-filled weekend was the 1000th dig from Mendelsohn.
“It taunted me all spring and summer that I only had two digs left until I reached 1000,” Mendelsohn said. “It feels amazing to be undefeated. We have worked incredibly hard during the summer and preseason to get to where we are now.”
The team’s success demonstrates that hard work put into practice before the season can lead to positive results once the fall season kicks off.
The girls are looking forward to a strong season after their stunning start this weekend. Last season, the women fought their way to a 23-11 overall record and a 7-2 conference record. The Knights eventually fell to SUNY Fredonia in the SUNYAC Tournament semi-finals by a score of 3-0.
The team’s successful start shows they are picking up right where they left off last season. With the hard work put in this off-season it would come as no surprise to see the Knights move even deeper into the SUNYAC tournament this year.
The Knights open up conference play on Sept. 21 at SUNY Potsdam. In the meantime, the women will battle their non-conference opponents and look to prepare themselves for conference play later in the year. Expect big things from the Knights this year.