AMHERST, N.Y. – The College of Saint Rose split a doubleheader today at Daemen College, picking up a straight set victory over D'Youville in the opener before falling to the host Wildcats 3-1 in the latter match.
Saint Rose completed the early sweep of the Saints behind a team effort that included six different Golden Knights eclipsing five or more kills. The attack was led by senior outside hitter
Cassidy Smith's career-high 12 kills. Freshman outside hitter
Juliana Venduro recorded a career-best as well with eight kills.
Junior defensive specialist
Megan Mayer was a difference maker in the service rotation, landing five aces for Saint Rose. Freshman setter
Emma Strefling and sophomore setter
Allison Sellers combined for 27 assists as the Golden Knights struck the ball on a .239 average.
The Golden Knights took set one against D'Youville 25-20, maintaining the lead throughout the entire frame. Six of Smith's kills came in the first set victory. The second set saw the Saints ahead 21-18 and pushing towards equaling the match at one set apiece, before the Golden Knights won seven of the final 10 points to secure the 2-0 match lead.
Looking to close out the sweep in the third, Saint Rose used an 11-1 run early in the set with Strefling and sophomore outside hitter
Elizabeth Johnson leading the way behind the service line. The Golden Knights advantage grew to 11 on the way to the 25-19 set victory.
Freshman outside hitter Nathalya Rocha paced D'Youville (1-11/0-2 ECC) with nine kills and freshman setter Emma Wlostowski registered 23 assists.
Finishing out the double-dip against Daemen (9-6/3-0 ECC), four different Golden Knights recorded 10 or more digs in the setback. Sophomore setter
Valeria Jorge paced Saint Rose (5-10/1-3 NE10) with nine kills and Venduro added six kills offensively.
Tied at 19-19 in a contested opening set against the Wildcats, Saint Rose ended the frame on a 6-3 streak that put the Golden Knights ahead 1-0 in the match. Venduro propelled Saint Rose to the set victory with three kills and an ace.
Daemen opened the second by winning 18 of the first 25 points, on the way to taking the frame 25-12. The momentum remained in the Wildcats' possession throughout sets three and four as the Golden Knights struggled to put together long offensive stretches and finished with a .051 strike percentage.
Graduate outside hitter Caitlyn Meyer helped the Wildcats with a match-high 15 kills. Junior outside hitter Maggie Burns recorded 13 kills and junior middle blocker Loren Alberts added 11 kills in the balanced Daemen attack. Five different Wildcats tallied 12 or more digs.
Looking ahead, the Golden Knights head to Springfield on Tuesday to face NE10 rival American International at 7:00 pm. D'Youville is back home Tuesday to host Roberts Wesleyan at 7:00 pm as well. Daemen hosts Edinboro Thursday at 6:00 pm.
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