Utica, NY (10/15/14)- The Utica College volleyball team returns home Wednesday night as it hosts local rival, Hamilton College.  Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Utica is coming off a tough weekend at the Ithaca College Invitational where the Pioneers went 0-4… Freshman Alaina Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda) led the team with 29 kills and three aces on the weekend... Wickwire also totaled 35 digs and added six blocks… Junior Laura Homer-Gunther (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit) had 25 kills to go along with a team-best eight blocks, and seven digs, while sophomore Brandi Blaszak (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) had 23 kills, 14 digs and seven blocks… Junior Lora Allen (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville) led the squad with 87 assists and added 32 digs, while senior Briona Enny (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) had a team-high 63 digs. 
 
WHERE WE SIT: The Pioneers are currently 8-15 on the season and 1-3 in the Empire 8 Conference… Utica was 7-17 at this point last season… UC is 2-0 at home this year, winning both games by a score of 3-0.
 
LEADING THE WAY: Junior Laura Homer-Gunther (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit) is fourth in the Empire 8 with 50 blocks, while classmate Lora Allen (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville) ranks fifth in the conference with 7.08 assists per set… Senior Briona Enny (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) is also fifth in the E8 with 4.01 digs per set… Sophomore Brandi Blaszak (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) leads the squad with 192 kills and she has totaled 40 blocks on the season.
 
SENIOR NIGHT: The Pioneers will honor their three seniors prior to Wednesday's contest… Briona Enny (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) has played in every match since joining the team as a sophomore… She has totaled 982 digs in 83 matches… Chelsea Lauria (Erieville, NY/Cazenovia) has collected 399 assists, 200 digs, and 118 kills in 69 matches over the last three seasons… Ashley Jones (Charlton, NY/Galway) is the only four-year member of the team… She has totaled 281 kills, 78 blocks, and 63 digs in her career. 
 
SCOUTING HAMILTON: The Continentals are 11-7 overall and 3-3 in the NESCAC… They are coming off a NESCAC Weekend split, defeating Colby College 3-1, before falling to Bowdoin 3-1… Hamilton is led by Jessica Weston, who has 173 kills and 28 service aces to go along with 55 total blocks. 
 
AGAINST THE CONTINENTALS: Utica is 1-4 against Hamilton in the last five years… The Pioneers' lone win came by way of a 3-1 victory at Hamilton on Sept. 16, 2009… The teams did not meet last season.
 
LOOKING AHEAD:  This weekend, the Pioneers travel to Potsdam, NY for the Clarkson Tournament… UC will take on Plattsburgh State Friday at 9 p.m. before facing SUNY Canton (10 a.m.) and Clarkson University (12 p.m.) on Saturday.  


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