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Clarkson University Athletics

CU Volleyball Preview - at Liberty League Championships (11/10-11)

vb23-4
Gary Mikel

Women's Volleyball | 11/9/2023 1:55:00 PM

Surviving a five-set match against RIT on Tuesday to advance in the conference playoffs, the Clarkson University Volleyball team finds itself in the Liberty League Semifinals for the 12th straight time while seeking yet another conference title. That potential road continues when the team faces William Smith College on Friday evening.

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The Tournament: Clarkson is the third seed in the Liberty League Championship Tournament and will be the "away" team against second-seeded William Smith at 6:30 pm on Friday. Top-seeded Ithaca faces fourth seed Vassar College in the first Liberty League Semifinal at 4:00 pm. Clarkson has advanced to the previous 11 conference finals, going 8-3 in league title matches.

Clarkson defeated Vassar in straight sets back in late-September should the Brewers advance to the championship round, while the Knights fell to Ithaca College in three straight in late-October. Clarkson's Friday opponent, William Smith, came from behind in the early-October match to win in five sets. The Knights won the first two games against the Herons rather handily, but William Smith rallied to take the third in extra points and outlasted Clarkson in the fourth and fifth.

Key Stats for #3 Clarkson (14-11, 6-2 Liberty League): The Golden Knights lead the conference in digs for the third straight season (16.91 dps), a familiar position for Clarkson since Carol LaMarche took over the program in 2016. Clarkson's defense has been at the top of the dig leaderboard every year since 2016 except for one (2019), and that season the Knights were short by .01 per set. Abigail Spector (4.89 dps) and Sara Galante (3.12 dps) are each in the top 10 in the conference in that category.

Key Stats for #2 William Smith (14-9, 6-2 Liberty League): Malya Sayre is the Herons go-to offensive threat, leading the conference in points per set while also averaging better than four kills per set (4.07 kps). William Smith ranks first in the Liberty League in aces per set (2.78 aps) with Elaina Wamhoff (0.63 aces per set) and Sayre (0.59) placing second and third, respectively, in the conference. Wamhoff also runs the offense with 8.35 assists per set.

Key Stats for #1 Ithaca College (23-4, 8-0 Liberty League): The Bombers unquestionably have the most potent offense in the conference, placing in the top 15 nationally in both hitting percentage (.252) and kills per set (13.47). Jamie Koopman (.383) and Ella Graper (.359) rank 1-2 in the Liberty League in hitting percentage, while Gabriela Gonzalez-Abreu is second in the league in kills per set at 3.59. Faith Sabatier (2.73 kps) and Koopman (2.59 kps) are also frequent targets on offense.

Key Stats for #4 Vassar College (17-9, 6-2 Liberty League): The Brewers have enjoyed one of the better turn-arounds in the country, going from 4-21 last year to 17-9 in 2023, an improvement of 12.5 games. That improvement is in large part due to the arrival of freshman hitters Holland Kaplan and Maura McAusland. Kaplan ranks third in the conference in kills per set (3.25) while McAusland is seventh (2.81 kps). The pair have combined to win Liberty League Rookie of the Week five times this year.




 
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Players Mentioned

Sara Galante

#13 Sara Galante

OH
5' 10"
Junior
Abigail Spector

#1 Abigail Spector

L/DS
5' 4"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Sara Galante

#13 Sara Galante

5' 10"
Junior
OH
Abigail Spector

#1 Abigail Spector

5' 4"
Sophomore
L/DS