Utica, NY - The Utica College volleyball team will open its season on September 3 when they take on Fredonia in the Cortland Red Dragon Classic hosted by SUNY Cortland. The match is set for 3 p.m. and fans can watch live or keep up with live stats by following https://bit.ly/38wCPHe. 
 
2020 Season Recap: UC wrapped up its shortened 2020 season with an overall 1-4 record while finishing 1-3 in Empire 8 play. They entered the expanded Empire 8 Tournament for the first time in program history as the sixth-seed where they fell to Nazareth in the first round in three straight sets. 
 
Schedule Outlook: In all, UC is scheduled to play 26 matches which includes 18 non-conference opponents and eight from the Empire 8. The Pioneers will take on Fredonia on September 3 to begin their season while their first game at home will be on September 8 against SUNY Delhi. Utica will open conference play on September 24 at home against Houghton and will conclude E8 play against St. John Fisher at home on October 23. UC is set to finish the regular season on October 29 at Cazenovia. 
 
A New Regime: The Pioneers enter the 2021 season under first-year head coach and UC alumni, Josh Higby. Higby comes to Utica from Mohawk Valley Community College, where he served as the head volleyball coach for the last seven years.  Higby was named the Mountain Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2019 after leading the Hawks to an NJCAA Region III Tournament berth. Lindsey Hannel, who played for UC from 2016-19, joins Higby for what will be her first season coaching the team as well. 
 
Run it back: Utica will return 11 players from the 2020 season. Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga) and Caitlyn Curcurito (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) will serve as the only two returning seniors. Juniors Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names), Brenna Stanton (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) and McKenna LaPorte (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) will add more experience to a relatively young group. Brianna Woods (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), Jillian Hare (Adams Center, NY/South Jefferson), Alyssa Morley (Oswego, NY/Oswego), Julyanna Sauschuck (Huguenot, NY/Port Jervis), Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) and Hannah Johnson (Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman) all return for year two following a freshman season in which the young players were relied on heavily. 
 
Welcome to the Crew: UC is set to welcome nine newcomers for the 2021 season. Deandra Myers (Gloversville, NY/Mayfield), Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro), Brooke Taverne (Westmoreland, NY/Westmoreland), Julia Veronica Guerrero (Glendale, AZ/Mountain Ridge), Abriana Wadley (Utica, NY/Proctor), Lila King (Gloversville, NY/Mayfield), Peyton Migliaccio (Suffern, NY/Suffern), Lainey Hayden (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) and Caitlyn Esposito (Haddam, CT/Haddam-Killingworth) will look to make a mark right away for the Pioneers. 
 
Eyes on Me: Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) looks to lead the Pioneers once again in 2021 after leading the team in 2020 with 49 points, 3.06 points per set, 43 kills and was second behind Briana Toledo (Ardsley, NY/Ardsley) with 51 digs and 3.19 digs per set. Her 2.69 kills per set placed her within the top-10 in the Empire 8 as well as her 3.19 digs per set. 
 
Out of the Woods: In her first season with the program, Brianna Woods (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) made a name for herself as one of the top offensive talents on the UC roster. She finished second on the team with 27.5 points, third with 1.72 points per set, 20 kills and her six assists netted her fourth on the Pioneers while her average of 0.56 blocks per set ranked her fifth in the conference. 
 
We Stan: Entering her senior season, Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga) has been a consistent threat on offense for UC since her first season in 2018. Having played in 50 of 59 total matches since then, Martin has racked up 149 kills and 166.5 points in 127 sets played. She finished last season second on the team with 22 kills and third on the team with 26 points while also contributing 12 digs and three blocks on defense. 
 
Open Fire: Hannah Johnson (Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman) returns after leading the Pioneers with eight service aces and finishing tied for 10th in the E8 with .50 service aces per set. She also finished third on the team with 30 digs overall and 1.88 per set behind only Cepiel and Toledo, who has since graduated. Fellow setter and sophomore Maggiore recorded four service aces last season while defensively she finished with 24 digs and 1.50 digs per set. 
 
Reinforcements: Caitlyn Curcurito (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) and Julyanna Sauschuck (Huguenot, NY/Port Jervis) are two of the six players who had at least 15 points on the season. Curcurito finished the season with 16.5 points, 14 kills, nine digs and three blocks. She, along with Martin, are the lone seniors on the team. Sauschuck put together a quality freshman year in the shortened season. She added 16 points, 14 kills, three blocks and an assist on a team that recorded 1.19 blocks per set, the second-best mark in the conference. 

Looking Ahead: Following Fredonia, the Pioneers will take on SUNY Poly at noon and Plattsburgh St. at 2 p.m. on September 4. Both games will be hosted by SUNY Poly.