UTICA, NY – After two tournaments away from home to begin the year, the Utica College Volleyball team gets a chance to take to its home floor on Monday night for the 2018 home opener. The Pioneers host the SUNY Delhi Broncos at 7 p.m. at the Harold T. Clark Athletic Center gymnasium.

FOLLOW ALONG: Live video and stats will be available online for tonight's match, and both can be found at portal.stretchInternet.com/utica/. Fans are also continually encouraged to use the Empire 8 Conference digital apps for watching live video of matches streamed by Empire 8 conference members. The apps offer a streamlined experience for viewing on your television, and are available free of charge for Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and Android TV platforms.

LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers ventured out to Rochester this past weekend for the University of Rochester Invitational Tournament. The Pioneers played three matches across Friday and Saturday, and were handed losses by the host Yellowjackets, Wells College, and Medaille College by 0-3 final tallies. Senior Nicole Herringshaw (Syracuse, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) led the way for Utica with a team-best 18 kills, while also adding two digs and a block for the weekend. She was named to the All-Tournament team for a second straight weekend. Freshman Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga) also had a standout performance during Saturday's twinbill. She was seemingly everywhere in that time, totaling nine kills and 13 digs over the course of two matches against Wells and Medaille, and landed a service ace in the match against Medaille.

ADIRONDACK CHAIR RAFFLE: All season long, the Pioneers are selling raffle tickets for an Adirondack Chair, with proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation as well as the UC volleyball program… Tickets are $5 each, or 6 tickets for $20 and can be purchased from head coach Aris Bird (ambird@utica.edu)... The drawing will be held on Oct. 20.
 
SAME GYMNASIUM, NEW LOOK: The Pioneers will have the distinction of playing the first varsity athletic contest in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium since a significant renovation project began this summer at the facility. Fans will notice updated bleacher seating as the most noticeable change at tonight's match. The project was made possible through the efforts of Wesley '80 and Wester Miga '76, who pledged generous support of the renovations in honor of their parents. The court will be formally dedicated to Doris and Walter Miga at a ceremony later this year.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS: The Pioneers carved out a steady home court advantage for themselves last season, as five of their seven wins took place at home. One of those wins came against SUNY Delhi, as UC scored the victory in straight sets, 3-0. Delhi won their home leg of the season series last year as well, as they defeated the Pioneers in a five set thriller, 3-2.

FINISHING TOUCH: Senior Nicole Herringshaw (Syracuse, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) has picked up where she left off from 2017, when she posted a team best 239 kills. She has remained at the forefront of the Pioneers attack this season, setting the current team standard with 44 kills in 2018. Sophomore Meaghan Romaguera (Stone Ridge, NY/Rondout) excelled in that area as a freshman, and has turned in another exemplary performance with 27 kills to begin the year.

ACE OF THE STAFF: Sophomore Megan Rice (Leverett, MA/Amherst Regional) has been Utica's best threat so far in the service game, as she holds a team-best four service aces on the young campaign.
 
IRON WOMEN: Seventeen players on the UC roster have checked in to at least one match this season, but only four have appeared in all eighteen sets. Nicole Herringshaw (Syracuse, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), Miranda Stockbridge (Waterville, NY/Waterville), Meaghan Romaguera (Stone Ridge, NY/Rondout), and Marissa Faroni (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) comprise the quartet of players who have appeared in every set the team has played this season.

BALANCED DEFENSE: The Pioneers have gotten defensive contributions from a wide variety of players to start the season. Seniors Hannah Voss (St. Louis, MO/Oakville) and Marissa Faroni (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) lead the team in digs to start the season with 37 apiece. Impressively, Voss has achieved that statistic despite only appearing in three of the team's six matches thus far. Nicole Herringshaw (Syracuse, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) has been a wall at the front of the net with a disruptive nine blocks. Freshmen have also played a vital role in the defensive effort with Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga), Jenna Prewasnicak (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili), and Casey Sims (Schenectady, NY/Niskayuna) all over ten digs to begin their opening campaigns.

ABOUT THE BRONCOS: SUNY Delhi is off to a strong start through their first five matches, and will enter tonight with a 4-1 overall record under longtime head coach Beau Bracchy. Most recently, the Broncos won both of their matches this past Saturday. They defeated Pine Manor College 3-0, and Fisher College by a 3-1 final count. Senior Kristen Maslanka has played a strong two-way game as she leads the team with 53 kills and 65 digs.

WHO'S NEXT: The Pioneers will trek to the shores of Lake Ontario to compete in the Oswego State Invitational this weekend on Friday, Sept. 14, and Saturday, Sept. 15. The Pioneers will meet SUNY Canton on Friday at 6 p.m., and will then battle St. Lawrence University and D'Youville College on Saturday. Utica's next home match will be an Empire 8 affair against St. John Fisher College on Wednesday, October 3^rd.