UTICA, NY - The Utica College volleyball team has a busy weekend ahead of it. The weekend starts with a road trip Friday to Oneonta for a conference matchup against Hartwick College. That match will begin at 7 p.m. The Pioneers will then host Elmira on Saturday at 3 p.m.

FOLLOW ALONG: Live Video and Stats will be available for both contests this weekend. Fans can also view the matches on the Empire 8 apps available for the Roku, Amazon Fire, and AppleTV. 

LAST TIME OUT: Utica fell short in its tri-match over the weekend as it competed against MCLA and Kings College. Highlights include freshman Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names), who led the way with a game-high 12 kills against MCLA. Meaghan Romaguera (Stone Ridge, NY/Rondout) and Rosemarie Fesko (Goshen, NY/Central) each shared four kills to help assist the Pioneers in their opening match of the day. In the team's second match against King's, Brenna Stanton (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) tied the team-lead with 10 assists in the contest alongside Cepiel. Freshman Cameron Boehlert (Utica, NY/Whitesboro ) finished with an impressive team-high 14 digs, and Caitlyn Curcurito (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) was a menace at the net with three blocks. 

EMPIRE 8 LEADERS: Freshman Taylor Crowley (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) is ranked fourth in the conference with 4.41 digs per game. As a team, the Pioneers are ranked fifth in the conference averaging 15.67 digs per match. 

SCOUTING HARTWICK: The Hawks are 11-8 this season. Colette Maloney leads the Hawks with 208 kills, and 11 assists. Celia Gagnon has 131 kills on the year while Maria Sorriento is right behind her with 105. Katie Boak leads the Hawks in digs with 285.

AGAINST HARTWICK: The Pioneers are 5-24 lifetime against the Hawks. Their last win against Hartwick came back in 2009 by a final of 3-2.

SCOUTING ELMIRA: Elmira is 8-12, and 2-1 in Empire 8 play. Lauren Smith leads Elmira with 155 kills and 181 points. Savannah Terry has 111 kills.  Kassi Hastings leads the Soaring Eagles with 154 digs, while teammate Cassie Potter has 151.

AGAINST ELMIRA: This will be the 20th meeting between Utica and Elmira. The Pioneers are 1-18 all-time against Elmira. Their only win against the Soaring Eagles came back in 2014 by a final of 3-1.

UP NEXT: The Pioneers will visit SUNY Poly for a non-conference match on Thursday. Game time is set for 7 p.m.