Utica NY – The Utica College volleyball team returns to the Clark Athletic Center Saturday to face off against two Empire 8 rivals.  Utica will first play the Nazareth Golden Flyers Saturday morning (11 a.m.), and then they will play the Alfred Saxons Saturday afternoon (4 p.m.).  These two games are a part of the Empire 8 POD Tournament hosted by Utica College. 
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers lost their fifth straight game following the 3-0 loss against SUNY Poly on Tuesday … Sophomore Hannah Voss (St. Louis, MO/Oakville) led the team in kills (eight), assists (eight), and digs (13) … Freshman Lindsey Hannel (Victor, NY/Victor) led the team in blocks (three)… Utica now has a 5-18 overall record and is 0-4 in the Empire 8 Conference. 
 
TOP PERFORMING PLAYERS: Senior Brandi Blaszak (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) recorded three kills against SUNY Poly … She still leads the team in kills this season (174), and she now has 954 kills in four seasons … Blaszak only needs 46 more kills to become the first player in program-history to reach the 1,000-kill milestone … Sophomore Nicole Herringshaw (Syracuse, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) racked up two kills against SUNY Poly bringing her season kill total up to 136 … Voss leads the team in assists with 277 and has 132 kills this season. 
 
SCOUTING NAZARETH: The Nazareth Golden Flyers have a 14-5 overall record and are 2-2 in the Empire 8 Conference … Nazareth recorded its fifth straight victory following a 3-2 win on the road against RIT on Wednesday … The Golden Flyers have 827 totals kills and 758 assists so far this season ... Senior Cady Messmer leads the teams in kills with 207 ... Senior Maureen Thayer leads the team in assists with 643. 
 
SCOUTING ALFRED: The Saxons have a 7-11 overall record and are 1-2 in the Empire 8 Conference … Alfred has lost three straight matches … Their last loss came against the Keuka College Wolf Pack (3-2) on Oct. 5 … The Saxons have 649 kills and 594 assists this season … Freshman Amber Smith leads the team in kills (208) and junior Aubrey Totsline leads the team in assists. 
 
AGAINST THE GOLDEN FLYERS: Nazareth has swept the Pioneers 3-0 in the past five seasons … It will be the first time since 2013 that the Flyers will play on the Pioneers home floor (Clarks Athletic Center). 
 
AGAINST THE SAXONS: The Pioneers were 4-1 against the Saxons in the past five seasons ... Utica beat Alfred 3-1 on the road last season thanks to the help of Blaszak (led the team with seven kills) and Laura Homer-Gunther (Sauquoit, NY/Sauquoit) (five kills). 
 
LOOKING AHEAD: After these two Empire 8 games, Utica will travel to Rochester for the RIT Tournament, Oct. 14-15.