Utica, NY (9/28/12)- The Utica College volleyball team returns home this weekend as it hosts Empire 8 opponent, Nazareth and Morrisville State.  Saturday's contest against Naz will take place at 5 p.m. while Sunday's match against Morrisville is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Live Video:  Live video will be available for both contests this weekend ... Click here or visit www.empire8.tv for a link to the live video feed. 

Last Time Out: The Pioneers are coming off a 3-0 loss at St. John Fisher, Wednesday… Sophomore Kellee Furno (Baltimore, MD/Maryvalle) led the team with 11 assists, while classmates Briona Enny (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) (nine digs) and Madison Bayer (Islip Terrace, NY/East Islip) (ten kills) also had impressive outings. 

Sophomores Leading the Way: Sophomores are among the leaders in all statistical categories… Bayer leads the team with 112 kills, is second in aces (12), and third in digs (77)… Chelsea Lauria (Erieville, NY/Cazenovia) and Kellee Furno (Baltimore, MD/Maryvalle) lead the team in assists… Lauria has 210 assists, while Furno has 141… Enny has a team-high 123 digs, while classmate Cassandra Manzer (Portcrane, NY/Chenango Valley) is second with 89 digs… Manzer also has 103 kills, 14 blocks and nine aces.

Strong Play From Strife: Junior Haley Strife has a team-high 14 aces and 26 blocks…  She also has 40 kills and 25 digs on the year.

Scouting Nazareth: The Golden Flyers are 10-7 overall and a perfect 3-0 in the Empire 8… They are coming off a 3-0 win over Brockport on Saturday… Offensively, Naz is led by sophomores Maria Allocco and Olivia Harrigan... Allocco has 147 kills, while Harrigan has 138. 

Scouting Morrisville: The Mustangs are 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the NEAC… They are coming off a 1-2 weekend of conference play… They beat Penn State Harrisburg 3-2, before falling to Penn State- Abington 3-1, and Gallaudet 3-0… Morrisville is led by sophomore Tiffany Jones-Maxwell and freshman Kylie Murphy… Jones-Maxwell has 52 kills, while Murphy has 57 digs through 24 sets played.

Looking Ahead: The Pioneers remain home as they host cross-town rival, Hamilton College, Wednesday… The non-conference match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Clark Athletic Center.


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