Utica, NY (10/4/14) – The Utica College volleyball team set for the Empire 8 Cross Over Tournament at Houghton College this weekend.  The Cross Over Tournament will feature the Utica Pioneers, the Ithaca Bombers and the Houghton Highlanders.  The Tournament starts off with Houghton taking on Ithaca Saturday at 11:00 a.m. The Pioneers will start their action against Ithaca College at 1:30 p.m. before taking on host Houghton at 4:00 p.m.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA: 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 on Twitter, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use #UCMoose… You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers ... Or follow the Pioneers on Instagram: UCPioneers.
 
HERE TO ASSIST: Lora Allen (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville) has amassed 389 assists in 54 sets, ranking her sixth in the Empire 8 … Allen is averaging 7.20 assists per set … She has a team best 15 service aces.
 
DIG IT UP: Briona Enny (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) is leading the team with 207 digs and has racked up ten plus digs in eleven matches … She is averaging 3.83 digs per set which ranks her seventh in the Empire 8.
 
STRONG HAND:  Brandi Blaszak (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) ranks sixth in the Empire 8 with 147 kills … Blaszak has six double-digit kill games and is averaging 2.72 kills per set … She is also leading the team with 180.5 points.
 
SCOUTING THE BOMBERS: Heading into Friday, Ithaca is 11-3 on the season and is riding a five game winning streak … The Bombers have dropped only two sets during that stretch … Ithaca has six different players with double digit service aces.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST ITHACA: The Pioneers lost to the Bombers 3-1 last year (10/11/13) in the Ithaca College Invitational … The Pioneers lost two of the sets by a combined eight points … Brandi Blaszak (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) led the team in kills (9) and aces (2) … Lora Allen (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville) pitched in with four kills and one ace.
 
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS: Houghton is 9-8 on the season and is 5-3 on neutral courts … The Highlanders have three different players with at least 100 kills … Houghton has an additional five players with at least 100 digs.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST HOUGHTON: The Highlanders beat the Pioneers in straight sets in last years Cross Over Tournament (9/21/13) … Utica kept things close, throughout the match, by losing a combined 15 points … Lora Allen (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville) racked up 16 assists while teammate Brandi Blaszak (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) had seven kills and one block.

SERIES LEADER: Dating back to 2010 the Pioneers are 0-4 against Ithaca and 0-4 against Houghton.
 
BACK IN ACTION: The Pioneers will play a non-conference match up against SUNY Cobleskill Wednesday. The game is set to start at 7:00 p.m.