Participating Teams:
Clarkson University (host)
Brockport
SUNY Canton
Geneseo
Medaille College
All-Tournament Team:
Victoria Kirkemo (Clarkson) - MVP
Aishvina Arasu (Clarkson)
Jamie Snyder (Brockport)
Kelsy Cornish (SUNY Canton)
Paige Pendleton (Geneseo)
Jenna Cleversley (Medaille)
Schedule - Friday, October 18th
3:00 pm - SUNY Canton vs. Clarkson University
Set 1: Clarkson 25, SUNY Canton 18
Set 2: Clarkson 25, SUNY Canton 17
Set 3: Clarkson 25, SUNY Canton 21
Box Score
Game Story - Hitting .366 in the first set created a tone for the Clarkson University Volleyball team overall as they defeated a scrappy SUNY Canton squad in three sets (25-18, 25-17, 25-21) to open the Golden Knights Invitational Friday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights improved to 20-6 overall, winning their third straight match, while the Kangaroos fell to 22-4.
Clarkson made just a single hitting error in the first set, but Canton was able to keep things close with a strong defensive effort that also kept the Knights from accumulating too many service aces. Victoria Kirkemo (Englewood, CO) had five kills in the opener and 11 overall in the match, picking up four more in the second set. It was there that the Kangaroos made a little more noise, capitalizing on Clarkson's mistakes to keep the set close midway through (16-14). However, Clarkson scored nine of the final 12 points to take that one as well.
In the third set, Canton would not allow the Knights to pull away, as the two teams traded serves throughout the majority of the game. Leading by just one point, 20-19, the Knights were finally able to put the set away, scoring three straight to force a Canton timeout. The Kangaroos would score a pair of points to get back to within striking distance, but the Knights closed out the match with a kill from Adrienne Walker (Centennial, CO).
Lani Durio (Austin, TX) recorded 29 assists to run the offense, while Kirkemo had 11 kills. Walker and Aishvina Arasu (Brea, CA) each notched nine kills, and Erika Chin (Katy, TX) led the team with 16 digs. For SUNY Canton Kelsey Cornish and Jessica Reynolds each tallied six kills and MacKenzie Mynter recorded 19 assists and 10 digs. Robyn Carroll led the team with 15 digs.
5:00 pm - Brockport vs. SUNY Canton
Set 1: SUNY Canton 25, Brockport 22
Set 2: SUNY Canton 25, Brockport 17
Set 3: SUNY Canton 25, Brockport 19
Box Score
Game Story - Minimizing its errors in the match on attack, SUNY Canton was able to post a solid .242 hitting percentage to hold off Brockport in three straight sets.
SUNY Canton picked up its 23rd win of the season (23-4), while the Soaring Eagles dropped to 9-15.
In the first set, the two teams were tight until the end but a tip kill by Brockport that would have brought the Soaring Eagles to within one sailed just long. In the next two sets, the Soaring Eagles were within range (16-13 in the second set, 15-14 in the third set), but accumulated errors allowed the Kangaroos to extend their lead to close out the sets. Canton scored nine of the final 13 points, including six straight to take a 10-point advantage (24-14) in the second, and then in the third, leading by just one (15-14), rattled off five straight to take a signifcant six-point lead, the margin with which they would end.
Kelsy Cornish led Canton with eight kills, and MacKenzie Mynter produced 13 assists. For Brockport, Jessica Greinder pushed the offense with 20 assists, while Hannalee Fordyce had a team-best six kills.
7:00 pm - Geneseo vs. Clarkson University
Set 1: Clarkson 25, Geneseo 12
Set 2: Clarkson 25, Geneseo 14
Set 3: Clarkson 25, Geneseo 13
Box Score
Game Story - The Golden Knights opened the match with six straight points, including four aces by Victoria Kirkemo as Clarkson was never pushed in its match against the Blue Knights, sweeping three straight (25-12, 25-14, 25-13).
The Green and Gold improved to 21-6 with their four straight win, while the Blue Knights fell to 9-15 on the season.
Clarkson swung to the tune of .363 with 38 kills and five errors on 91 swings, and also produced 11 aces, including a total of five by Kirkemo. Aishvina Arasu (Brea, CA) was a major contributor on offense, scoring 15 kills against no errors in only 23 swings (.652 hitting percentage). Overall, the Golden Knights were tough up front as well, totaling 10 blocks. Danielle Farabee (Katy, TX) had two solo blocks and five block assists for seven, while Xiao Liang (Tianjin, China) came through with four blocks (one solo and three assists) as well as six kills and just a single error in 11 swings (.455 hitting percentage).
9:00 pm - Brockport vs. Medaille College
Set 1: Medaille 25, Brockport 23
Set 2: Medaille 25, Brockport 16
Set 3: Medaille 25, Brockport 22
Box Score
Game Story - A change in the momentum late in the first set proved to unnerve Brockport, as a late push by Medaille in the opener provided them with a close victory and the rally continued through the final two sets as the Mavericks posted the victory (25-23, 25-16, 25-22).
In the first, Medaille started with a seven point lead (13-6), but saw the advantage evaporate as Brockport tied the score at 15-15 and then added four more points, appearing ready to claim the opener. However, the Mavericks scored the final six points of the match to take a 25-23 victory.
The loss of the opening set gave energy to the Mavericks in the next two sets, as they cruised to a paif of lopsided victories to win their only match of the day to improve to 8-15. With their second loss in the tournament, Brockport fell to 9-16 on the season.
Schedule - Saturday, October 19th
10:00 am - Geneseo vs. Medaille College
Set 1: Geneseo 25, Medaille 18
Set 2: Geneseo 25, Medaille 17
Set 3: Geneseo 25, Medaille 10
Game Story - Though she recorded just one aces, Sarah Pray did a significant amount of damage from the service line for Geneseo, helping the Knights score 14 straight points in the first set and producing several runs in the other two sets to help Geneseo to a three-set sweep (25-18, 25-17, 25-10).
Trailing by one (8-7), Pray served 14 straight times as Geneseo turned a one-point deficit into a 13-point advantage to take the first set. In the other two sets, the Knights jumped out to early leads and cruised to a pair of victories in the final two games.
The Knights had 14 scoring blocks, with seven solos and 14 total block assists, led by Paige Pendleton, who had five solos and five block assists. She also scored eight kills against just one error in 17 swings.
12:00 noon - Brockport vs. Clarkson University
Set 1: Clarkson 25, Brockport 9
Set 2: Clarkson 26, Brockport 24
Set 3: Clarkson 25, Brockport 15
Box Score
Game Story - Although the first and third sets were clearly in favor of the Clarkson University Volleyball team, it was during the second set that the Golden Knights and Brockport both gave the large throng of fans a thrill.
Brockport forced a timeout with a six-point lead (10-4) and then pushed the advantage to eight points, but Clarkson rallied to tie the score 15-15. However, that change of momentum didn't stick, as Brockport was able to rally back and take the lead. Following a tip kill by the Eagles (24-23), Lani Durio (Austin, TX) surprised Brockport with a dump kill on a set to tie the score at 24-24. A pair of errors by Brockport gave the second set to the Knights 26-24.
Sophomore Victoria Kirkemo (Englewood, CO) scored 16 kills and added in 10 digs and three aces in the match, while Erika Chin also produced three aces with a team-best 14 digs. Durio had 13 assists and Kirstie Shurie (LaCanada, CA) also chipped in 13 assists as the pair split setting duties in the match. Clarkson hit .384 overall (37-4-86).
For Brockport, Hanna Sawicki had nine kills with just a pair of errors in 19 swings and Jessica Greiner led the team with 25 assists. Jamie Snyder also tossed in five service aces in the match.
2:00 pm - SUNY Canton vs. Geneseo
Set 1: SUNY Canton 26, Geneseo 24
Set 2: SUNY Canton 25, Geneseo 22
Set 3: SUNY Canton 25, Geneseo 21
Box Score
Game Story - Late rallies and narrow escapes exemplified the third match on Saturday of the Golden Knights Invitational between SUNY Canton and Geneseo.
SUNY Canton led by more than three points for almost the entire first set, and tallied a 24-18 lead overall before Geneseo turned up the pressure and tied the score at 24-24. The Kangaroos were able to rally back and win the next two points, but the stage was set for two more close sets that allowed little breathing room.
Both Kelsy Cornish and Morgan Bills finished with eight kills and two errors in 20 swings to lead the scoring for SUNY Canton, and the team produced 11 aces overall, led by Robyn Carroll's four. MacKenzie Mynter ran the offense to the tune of 24 assists overall, also adding in a pair of block assists. For Geneseo, Tricia Baxley had 11 kills and just a single error in 23 swings and Erika Dannenfelser had 23 assists. Paige Pendleton was once again a force on the block with three solo efforts and three block assists.
4:00 pm - Medaille College vs. Clarkson University
Set 1: Clarkson 25, Medaille 9
Set 2: Clarkson 25, Medaille 14
Set 3: Clarkson 25, Medaille 14
Box Score
Game Story - Clarkson ended its own tournament with a dominating three-set sweep of Medaille (25-9, 25-14, 25-14), in which the Golden Knights hit a ridiculous .483 overall with 48 kills and just six errors in 87 attempts.
The Knights had 17 kills and no errors in 29 swings in the first set (.586 hitting percentage), and the numbers only dropped slight in the second set (.393) and third set (.467). Sophomore Victoria Kirkemo had 13 kills and three errors in 21 swings for a .476 clip, adding in 11 digs and three aces. Aishvina Arasu (Brea, CA) had 12 kills and only two errors in 26 swings (.385 hitting percentage), while Clarkson's middles Adrienne Walker (Centennial, CO) and Xiao Liang (Tianjin, China) combined to hit nearly .500 combined in 27 total swings. Walker also added in four aces and a pair of blocks, while Liang had four total blocks. Lani Durio, not surprisingly, averaged better than 13 assists per set with a total of 40 and Erika Chin led the defense with 13 digs.
