Utica, NY (9/24/13)- The Utica College volleyball team looks for its first Empire 8 Conference win as it welcomes Nazareth College to the Clark Athletic Center Wednesday night.  Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Game Coverage: All home games will be broadcast live on empire8.tv… If you can't make it out to the game make sure to follow live updates on the Pioneers official Twitter feed: @UCPioneers… If you are at the game, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use #LetsGoUC … You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers.

Last Time Out: UC is coming off a 0-3 weekend at the Empire 8 Crossover at Hartwick College… In the first match, the Pioneers pushed Hartwick to a fifth set, but lost a heartbreaker in the final frame… Utica then fell to Houghton College and Stevens Institute of Technology 3-0 on Saturday.

Manzer Stepping Up: Junior Cassandra Manzer (Portcrane, NY/Chenango Valley) led the team with31 kills last week… She is currently second on the squad with 82 kills and third in blocks (18).

Blaszak Continues Strong Play:  Freshman Brandi Blaszak (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) leads the team in kills (105) and ranks fourth in the conference with 39 blocks… She is also is fourth on the squad in service aces (seven). 

Helping Out: Junior Briona Enny (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) leads the team in digs (163) and has added eight service aces, while sophomore Lora Allen (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville) has team-highs in assists (207) and aces (30)… Sophomore Laura Homer-Gunther (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit) is second in blocks (32) and third in kills (74).

Scouting Naz: The Golden Flyers are 13-3 overall and 1-0 in the conference… They are coming off wins at the Empire 8 Crossover against Houghton and Hartwick, by scores of 3-1 and 3-0, respectively… They are led by Maria Allocco and Madi Wickens… Allocco has a team-high 141 kills and 36 blocks, while Wickens ranks third in the conference with 340 assists… Last year the Pioneers fell 3-0… Junior Alyssa Nicotera (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) led the Pioneers with six kills and two blocks, while classmate Cassandra Manzer (Portcrane, NY/Chenango Valley) had a team-high eight digs on the evening.

Looking Ahead: UC travels across town for the Wildcat Classic at SUNYIT this weekend… UC takes on Cazenovia on Friday at 4 p.m. before facing SUNY Canton at 8 p.m… On Saturday, the Pioneers play D'Youville College at 10 a.m. followed by York College at 2 p.m.


                                                                            --- www.ucpioneers.com ---