UTICA, NY - The Utica College volleyball team will conclude its season this week with a pair of non-conference away matches. On Wednesday, the Pioneers will travel to SUNY Delhi for a 7 p.m. start followed by a trip to Cazenovia College at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 29. 
 
Follow Along: SUNY Delhi will be providing live video on Wednesday through https://delhibroncos.com/sports/wvball/live while on Saturday, Cazenovia will provide live video through https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJisY13a7YE. 
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers fell to St. John Fisher on Saturday afternoon, 3-0. Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) led Utica with six kills while Julyanna Sauschuck (Huguenot, NY/Port Jervis) and Lainey Hayden (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) each ended the match with two. Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) led the team with seven assists followed by Hannah Johnson (Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman) with five. Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) finished as the team leader with seven digs while Maggiore had six and Johnson finished with four. Hayden totaled two blocks for UC while Brooke Taverne (Westmoreland, NY/Westmoreland) and Caitlyn Esposito (Haddam, CT/Haddam-Killingworth) added one each. 
 
Season Recap: Utica begins the final week of the season with a 7-16 overall record while finishing Empire 8 play 2-6. The team's seven wins are already the most since 2017 with still two games remaining while its pair of E8 wins is the most for UC since 2015. With four wins coming at Miga Court, the team also secured its most wins at home since 2017 when UC won five games in front of the home crowd. The Pioneers have posted the fourth best hitting percentage in the conference at .130 while its 1.32 blocks per set is the third best mark in the E8. 
 
Season for the Ages: Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) has had a career year in her third season with the Pioneers. Sitting at 234 kills. The junior needs to record a total of 25 kills over her final two games to move into the top-10 for most kills in a single season in program history. Cepiel also enters the final week of the season top-5 on the team with 244 digs, 25 aces and an .885 reception percentage. Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga) has also had a career year in her fourth season as the senior has 199 kills to her name as well as 146 digs, 26 blocks and 23 aces over 93 sets. 
 
The Future is Bright: A large portion of the first/second year players on the team served a major role throughout the season. The one-two punch from Kentucky, Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) and Lainey Hayden (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro), have already put their names amongst the best in the conference in both of their first seasons. Pappas sits fifth in the Empire 8 averaging 3.89 digs per set while her 362 overall digs is third in the conference. Hayden, who has had at least one block every game, is fifth in the E8 averaging 0.67 per set and is second on the team with a total of 36 blocks. Another freshman, Caitlyn Esposito (Haddam, CT/Haddam-Killingworth), has broken out since the start of October. Through 13 games in September, Esposito totaled 14 kills, 12 blocks and nine digs. Over eight games this month, Esposito already has 17 kills, 15 blocks and 13 digs. A pair of sophomores, Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) and Brianna Woods (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), also impressed this season as Woods, who hasn't played since October 8, still leads the team with 38 blocks and is third with 108 kills while Maggiore leads UC with 358 assists and 41 aces. 
 
Scouting Delhi: The Broncos (19-5, 8-0 NAC) enter the week having won each of its last six matches. The team averages over 10 kills per set on a .142 hitting percentage while also posting 2.65 aces per set. Four players, Stephanie Burke, Bailee Jones, Witchney Clearsainville and Lexi Taylor, have over 100 kills this season while Burke leads the unit with 168 over 69 sets. UC fell to Delhi earlier in the season on September 8, 3-1. 

About Cazenovia: The Wildcats come into the final week of the season 3-17 and 2-6 in the NAC. As a team, Cazenovia averages just under seven kills per set while posting a .048 hitting percentage and allows 11.8 kills per set to opponents on a .173 hitting percentage. Karissa Decosse leads the Wildcats with 218 points, 174 kills and 35 aces. On defense, Taylor Kutzuba leads the unit with 200 digs on a .818 reception percentage. Utica defeated Cazenovia on October 1, 3-0.