UTICA, NY - The Utica College volleyball team has a busy weekend in front of them.  The Pioneers start the weekend in Alfred on Friday as they take on the Alfred Saxons in an Empire 8 match. The Pioneers will then travel to Houghton on Saturday for the back end of an Empire 8 twinbill. Friday's match will begin at 7 p.m, and Saturday's match will begin at 2 p.m. 

LAST TIME OUT: Utica fell short to SUNY Poly on Thursday by a 3-1 score. After falling behind one set to zero by a 25-18 score, the Pioneers were able to secure the second set, 25-20. SUNY Poly took the next two sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-17 to take the match in four sets. Meaghan Romaguera (Stone Ridge, NY/Rondout) led the Pioneers with six kills, two service aces, and fifteen digs. Briana Toledo (Ardsley, NY/Ardsley) and Brenna Stanton (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) set the ball well with eight assists apiece, and Elanor Cepiel and Cameron Boehlert (Utica, NY/Whitesboro ) had two blocks apiece. 

EMPIRE 8 LEADERS: Freshman Taylor Crowley (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) is ranked fourth in the conference with 4.11 digs per game. Classmate Cameron Boehlert (Utica, NY/Whitesboro ) is ranked 10th with 3.21. As a team, the Pioneers are ranked fifth in the conference averaging 15.53 digs per game. 

TEAM STATS: Collectively, the Pioneers have recorded a total of 599 kills, 81 blocks, and 537 assists. 

SCOUTING ALFRED: Alfred is 6-18 this season. The Saxons are led by Amber Smith with 297 kills and 27 assists. She leads the team in almost every category. Julia Fanning leads the team in assists with 255 on the season. 

SCOUTING HOUGHTON: Houghton is 17-4 this season. The Highlanders are led by Brooke Lewandowski with 237.5 points and 198 kills. Hayley Unverdorben leads the team in assists with 683. Ally Bittinger leads the team in digs with 242, one more than teammate Morgan Potempa (241). 

AGAINST THE SAXONS: The Pioneers have faced Alfred 19 times, and have won nine of the matches. Utica had a five-match win streak against the Saxons in 2012 which lasted until 2015. Their last win against Alfred came in 2015 by a final of 3-1.

AGAINST THE HIGHLANDERS: Houghton has won all ten meetings against Utica. The Highlanders took last year's match 3-1. Four of the meetings have gone at least four sets. 

NEXT TIME OUT: The Pioneers will host SUNY Delhi for the team's senior night celebration on Wednesday, October 30th.