Cortland, NY – Sophomore Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, NY) produced back-to-back double-digit kill efforts as the Clarkson University Volleyball team swept the second day’s matches at the Cortland Red Dragon Invitational.
In Saturday’s opening match against Buffalo State, the Golden Knights swept through three sets, 26-24, 25-18, 25-13, and then against Skidmore College, Clarkson beat its Liberty League rival in three straight, 25-16, 25-22, 25-17.
“To beat a much improved Buffalo State team the way we did, I thought was a very gutsy performance,” coach Johan Dulfer said. “Our passing and defense allowed our offense to function at a very high level today and we took full advantage. The Skidmore win was huge for our confidence and I thought the difference was the way we fought back in the second set. That kind of fight is becoming our trademark. We talk a lot about heart, and we showed lots of it this weekend.”
Several outside hitters had impressive games against the Bengals. Artus was the leader with 16 kills in 37 swings, but sophomore Megan Mahon (Irvine, CA) had just two errors and 10 kills in 18 swings versus Buffalo State. Nearly as impressive was senior MacKenzie Cook (Syracuse, NY), who had 7 kills and no errors in 18 swings. Senior Jenna Stock (Johnstown, NY) produced 31 assists in the match while Alison Schroeder (Webster, NY) and Davanna Chetney (Fulton, NY) combined for 29 digs.
In the second match of the day, the Knights swept Skidmore in three sets for just the second time in 23 matches since the best-of-five format began back in 1996. Mahon continued to make the most of her opportunities with 8 kills and just a single error in 20 swings, while Artus had 11 kills and four errors in 29 swings. Senior Jessica Brody (Phoenix, AZ) also contributed six kills. Schroeder added 19 digs and Chetney had 14 digs while Stock again led in assists with 23. Both Schroeder and Chetney were selected to the Red Dragon All-Tournament team.