Utica, NY (9/25/12)- The Utica College volleyball team travels to Rochester, NY, Wednesday as it takes on Empire 8 opponent, St. John Fisher College.  Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Last Time Out: The Pioneers are coming off a 1-2 weekend at the Empire 8 Crossover Tournament, hosted by Alfred University… UC fell to Houghton and Elmira by identical 3-0 scores, before downing Alfred 3-0… It was Utica's first conference win in three years.

Leading the Way: The Pioneers are led by Sophomores Madison Bayer (Islip Terrace, NY/East Islip) and Cassandra Manzer (Portcrane, NY/Chenango Valley)… Bayer has a team-high 102 kills to go along with 12 aces and 75 digs… Manzer has 99 kills, nine aces, 83 digs and 14 blocks on the season...  Classmate Chelsea Lauria (Erieville, NY/Cazenovia) leads the team with 205 assists.

Strife Stepping Up: Junior Hayley Strife (Lowville, NY/Lowville) has also been impressive as of late… She leads the team with 13 aces and 25 blocks… She also has 40 kills and 25 digs on the year.

Scouting St. John Fisher: The Cardinals are 2-11 overall and 1-2 in the conference… They are coming off a 3-0 loss to Houghton at the Empire 8 crossover last weekend… The Pioneers lost to Fisher 3-0 in their only meeting last year.

Looking Ahead: Following this, Utica returns home as it hosts Nazareth, Saturday, for an E8 match up… Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.


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