UTICA, NY – The Utica College volleyball team hits the road Saturday to compete in the Empire 8 Crossover Tournament hosted by Alfred. Utica will face Nazareth College at 1:30 p.m. and then take on Alfred at 4 p.m.

Last Time Out: UC dropped a nonconference matchup against cross-town rivals Hamilton College on Monday … Utica dropped three straight sets 25-6, 25-19, and 25-14.

Freshman Standout: Hannah Voss (St. Louis, MO/Oakville) leads the team in points (281.5), kills (240), and service aces (31) … She is second on the team in digs (293) … Voss has also added 19.0 blocks, and 14 assists so far this season.  

Killing It: The Pioneers have three players with more than 180 kills … Brandi Blaszak (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) is second on the team with 205 kills on the season… Laura Homer-Gunther (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit) is third on the team with 182 kills on the year… Homer-Gunther is fourth in the conference with a hitting percentage of .272.

Over 2,000: Senior Lora Allen (Dolgeville, NY/Dolgeville) became the first player in program history to amass 2,000 assists in a career as she now has 2,013 assists … Allen also broke her single season personal best of 752 assists, she now has 762 assist on the year… She is ranked sixth in the conference in assists per set (7.47).

Can You Dig It?: Senior Alexis Lyon (Prospect, NY/Holland Patent) leads the team and is first in the conference in digs (540) … Lyon is second in the conference with a 5.29 average dig per set… Allen is third on the team with 287 digs on the year.

Block City: Utica has three players with more than 40.0 blocks this year … Freshman Nicole Herringshaw (Syracuse, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) leads the team with 60.0 blocks on the season … Blaszak is second on the team with 56.0 blocks while Homer-Gunther is third on the team with 43.0 blocks on the year.

Scouting Nazareth College: The Golden Flyers are 15-15 overall with a 3-3 Empire 8 record… Nazareth lost against SUNY Geneseo 3-0 on Wednesday … The Golden Flyers are led by Cady Messmer (313 kills, 63 service aces), Maureen Thayer (778 assists), and Olivia Krick (303 digs).

Scouting Alfred: The Saxons are 3-22 overall with a 0-6 Empire 8 record … Alfred has lost the last three games it has competed in … The Saxons are led by Heather D'Andrea (123 kills), Aubrey Totsline (425 assists), and Elisabeth Estep (306 digs).

Looking Ahead: Utica (5-24 overall, 1-5 Empire 8) hits the road for the Houghton Tournament Friday and Saturday hosted by Houghton College … On Friday the Pioneers take on SUNY Canton at 6 p.m. and Alfred State at 8 p.m. … On Saturday UC takes on Houghton at 11 a.m. and Oberlin College at 1 p.m.