UTICA, NY - The Utica College volleyball team is set to play three conference matches this week. The Pioneers will travel to Albany on Wednesday to take on Sage at 7 p.m. UC will then have back-to-back home games when it hosts Elmira on Friday at 6 p.m. and Alfred at 3 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
Follow Along: Live video will be provided by Sage on Wednesday and can be found at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sageathletics/. On Friday and Saturday, fans can follow https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/ for live video and/or live stats. 
 
Last Time Out: UC won its only game last week in a straight set sweep over Cazenovia (25-16, 25-22, 25-10). Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) led the Pioneers with a season-high 16 kills, followed by Julyanna Sauschuck (Huguenot, NY/Port Jervis) with six and Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga) with five. Hannah Johnson (Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman) tallied 18 assists on the night and Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) wound up with 16. Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) led the team with 16 digs while Cepiel added 15 to her stat line. In all, Utica led Cazenovia 38-21 in kills, 64-52 in digs, 35-17 in assists, 5-4 in blocks, 8-2 in aces while outhitting the Wildcats .248 percent to .018 percent. 
 
Where We Stand: UC (5-10, 1-1 Empire 8) finds themselves in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings. The team is fifth in the conference posting a .125 hitting percentage while ranking fourth in the E8 with a .128 opponent hitting percentage. The Pioneers have been one of the strongest teams around the net as well, ranking second in the conference averaging 1.35 blocks per set and allowing 1.01 blocks per set to opponents. Brianna Woods (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) heads the block party for Utica as her mark of 35 blocks is the second most in the conference. Lainey Hayden (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) has come on strong as of late too, totaling 19 blocks in 25 sets for an average of 0.76 per set which would place her well inside the top-10 in the E8. 
 
Stuffing the Stats: Eleanor Cepiel's (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) electric performance against Cazenovia has been the norm for the junior. Cepiel is tied with Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga) for the team lead with 157.5 points while standing alone as the team leader with 137 kills as well as having the third highest hitting percentage on the team for anyone with over 30 sets played (.135 percent). She's also second on the team with 158 digs and is rocking a respectable .854 reception percentage. 
 
The Sauschuck Redemption: Julyanna Sauschuck (Huguenot, NY/Port Jervis) has been finding herself in more critical roles as the season has progressed. Although her numbers won't necessarily stand out to the naked eye, the sophomore has played her best volleyball of the season over the last four games. Through her first eight games, Sauschuck recorded 26 points, 20 kills, eight digs and nine blocks, seven of which coming back-to-back days. Over the last four games the middle hitter has 19 points on 17 kills, nine digs and four blocks to go with a .179 hitting percentage. As conference play heats up, Sauschuck is putting herself in position to be another major weapon for the Pioneers. 
 
Some of that Tennessee Tea: Hannah Johnson (Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman) is one of three Pioneers to have played in each of the 63 sets this season. The setter from Murfreesboro, Tennessee is second on the team with 186 assists including racking up 73 over her last five games alone. Johnson has also accumulated 11 of her 28 points on the year over her last five games. She also finds herself inside the top-5 on the team with 20 aces, nine of which have come over her last four games, and 80 digs, 38 of which coming over her last four games as well.  
 
Gator Chomp: Sage enters the week 4-14 (0-2 Empire 8) and is in the midst of a five-game losing streak in which the last four losses have come in straight set sweeps. Emma Parkington not only leads the team with 182 kills but she also comes into the week as the conference leader as well. Right behind her with the third most kills in the Empire 8 is teammate Celia Gagnon, who has recorded 153 kills this season and also tops the team with 32 blocks. Elaina Moisidis leads the team with 327 digs, nearly 200 more than Parkington who is second on the team with 145. As a team, the Gators rank near the bottom of the E8 with a .088 hitting percentage, 12.58 opponent kills per set and 1.78 service aces per set. In the last meeting between Sage and UC, the Pioneers came out on top 3-1 on March 17, 2021. Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) recorded a career-high 22 kills in the win. 
 
Fly Like an Eagle: The Soaring Eagles come into the new week 5-8 (1-1 Empire 8) while riding a three-game losing streak. Elmira will also face Keuka on Wednesday prior to traveling to Utica on Friday. The team is balanced on offense as five different players have 40 or more kills this season, led by Sam Sprague who has 57. On defense, Maddie Hampton leads the team with 116 digs and her average of 3.31 per set ranks seventh in the conference. As a team, Elmira is second in the E8 averaging 1.40 blocks per set while leading the conference with .93 blocks allowed per set. UC and Elmira last met on April 7, 2021 which ended with a straight set sweep for the Soaring Eagles. 
 
About Alfred: Prior to traveling to Utica on Saturday, the Saxons (7-9, 0-2 Empire 8) will make the journey to Rochester, NY to face St. John Fisher on Friday night. Sarah Raeman leads the team with 155 kills while her average of 2.67 kills per set is sixth in the conference. Amanda Burns has racked up 386 assists so far this season and her average of 7.88 per set ranks her third in the Empire 8. The Saxons also have the conference leader in digs per set, Darian Ortiz, who totals nearly five per set. As a team, Alfred posts the lowest hitting percentage in the E8 at .088 however, they own the second-best opponent hitting percentage in the conference at .116 percent. The Saxons defeated the Pioneers 3-0 in the last meeting between the teams on March 21, 2021. 

What's to Come: After this week, the Pioneers will travel to Oneonta, NY to take on Hartwick in an Empire 8 showdown. The match is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 13.