This past weekend the Knights traveled to Scranton, Pa. to face off against the University of Scranton and Rowan University on Saturday Sept. 21. After falling to Scranton and beating Rowan, the Knights advance to a 6-7 record overall.
Versus Scranton, junior middle blocker Kiersten Colvin and sophomore outside hitter Maddie McLaughlin both swung for five kills. Senior libero Sam Mendelsohn had a game-high 26 digs, while freshman setter Grace Thomas added 15.
In their second game of the day, senior outside hitter Abby May tallied 15 kills, trailed by senior outside hitter Grace Cergol with 14 and McLaughlin with 13. Junior outside hitter Alexandra Frank had 29 digs, while Mendelsohn had 28 herself. Junior setter Mary Bartkus set up 37 assists.
Over the weekend, Mendelsohn improved her career dig total to 1,537, just 20 short of breaking Geneseo’s all-time record. Additionally, Cergol surpassed Amanda McKenzie ‘03 for seventh place on the Knights’ career digs list with 1,154.
Frank explained how they managed to adapt to Scranton’s playstyle. “Our tournament last weekend in Pennsylvania tested our mental strength,” she said. “Scranton was a very strong team skill-wise and their fast offense and scrappiness caused us to have to think outside of the box and get creative with how we were going to put balls down.”
Frank also recognized the importance of learning from their opponents. “Rowan had persistent high energy and they put up a huge fight against us that ultimately took the game to five sets,” she said. “I think this will translate well in our conference games coming up because both [SUNY] Potsdam and [SUNY] Plattsburgh are also huge energy teams. So, it’s going to force us to have consistent energy [throughout] the entire match for us to succeed.”
Also discussing this past weekend, Bartkus talked about the Knights’ ability to find the positives in every situation. “Every weekend that we play tough teams, our weaknesses are exposed, which is something we all get excited about. We always look forward to getting back in our gym to work out the kinks in order to be our best in conference play,” she said.
The cool-headedness of the team is also an important factor that they focus on weekly. Bartkus emphasized how their mental fortitude allows them to move on from bad plays. “This weekend in particular, we talked a lot about resilience. I think everyone was able to take our mistakes from the first match and make a conscious effort to make the right changes for our second match,” she said. “Playing back-to-back games was a really good opportunity for us to make these changes immediately.”
Up next for the Knights, Potsdam and Plattsburgh make the long bus ride for the first SUNYAC home weekend. Geneseo faces Potsdam on Friday September 27 at 6 p.m., and Plattsburgh on Saturday September 28 at 1 p.m.
Bartkus knows that each SUNYAC conference game is important because of the Knights’ conference sweep last season. There’s definitely pressure to repeat their success, but they focus on one game at a time. No matter who’s on the other side of the net the goal remains the same.
Frank ended on a positive note, making sure everyone received recognition for their contributions. “Volleyball is such a mental sport, that energy goes further than skill. We can always count on them to be cheering their loudest and keep a fun atmosphere,” she said. “Not to mention, when we need a change, any player can get in there and get the job done. It’s not always about the crazy stats, our wins come from having each other’s backs.”