The Utica College women's volleyball team played two close contests, finishing 1-1 on the Binder Gymnasium floor at the Hartwick Invitational on Saturday. Utica (11-16) won the first match against the hometown Hartwick team. After falling behind 2-1 going into the fourth game, the Pioneers won the final two 25-14 and 16-14, to complete the comeback. However, they could not do the same against Alfred. After again falling behind 2-1, the Pioneers won the fourth game 25-19, only to lose 15-11 in the final game.
The opening win was helped by the steady play of senior Brielle Swerdlin (Chester, NJ), who had a team-high 12 kills and eight digs, as well as senior Melissa Austin (Castorland, NY) who had seven kills and a team-high 17 digs. Sophomore setter Miranda Austin (Castorland, NY) led the team with 33 assists, while sophomore Audrey Cross (White Lake, NY) and freshman Alicia Andrianos (Memphis, NY) chipped in with eight kills and 13 digs, respectively.
The Pioneers had stellar efforts even in the losing match. Swerdlin again led the team in kills with 15, while Melissa Austin added 10 kills and a team-high 25 digs. Miranda Austin led the team with 39 assists, and Cross contributed eight kills and 12 digs.
Utica will play next in the second Empire 8 Crossover Tournament of the season, with the first game on October 24th at Nazareth against RIT at 5 p.m.
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