UTICA, NY - After having the last six days off, the Utica College volleyball team is back in action on Friday, October 1 when it hosts Cazenovia College at 7 p.m. for the first of two non-conference meetings between the teams this season.  
 
Follow Along: Live video and stats will be provided and can be found at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: Utica traveled to Keuka Park, NY on September 25 to take on the Keuka Wolves in a conference showdown. After the teams swapped the first four sets, Utica came away with a 15-11 win in the fifth set to win its first Empire 8 contest of the season, 3-2. Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) led UC with 15 kills, followed by Brianna Woods (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) with 10 and Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga) with 8. Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) led the way with 22 digs with Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) behind her with 21, Maggiore also led the team with 23 assists. Lainey Hayden (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) totaled five blocks while Woods finished with four and Peyton Migliaccio (Suffern, NY/Suffern) added a pair. 
 
Where We Stand: The Pioneers are 4-10 overall this season and 1-1 in Empire 8 play, good enough for sixth place in the conference. Of UC's next four conference games following Friday, Sage and Alfred are both currently behind the Pioneers in the standings at 0-2 each while Hartwick and Elmira share a 1-1 record with Utica. Counting Cazenovia, the Pioneers have 11 matches remaining, six of which against Empire 8 opponents. 
 
Consistency is Key: Brianna Woods (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), along with Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) and Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga), has been a major factor in the Pioneers' three-headed attack on offense. Woods currently holds a share of the conference lead with 33 blocks to her name while boasting the second-best hitting percentage in the Empire 8 at .310 percent. While her 94 kills rank third on the team, it also places her just outside of the top-10 in the conference as does her 128.5 points. 
 
About Those Other Two…: The other two parts of UC's three-headed punch, Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) and Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga), are first and second on the team in kills and points. Martin leads the Pioneers in both, totaling 130 kills and 152 points so far while Cepiel has recorded 122 kills and 140.5 points through 14 matches. Aside from being the top-two leaders on the team in those categories, Martin and Cepiel also rank inside the top-10 in the Empire 8 in kills and points. 
 
Aces Wild: UC has been able to capitalize on service aces all season long as the team ranks second in the E8 with 125 total aces (2.08 per set). The bulk has come from Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) (33), Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) (29) and Hannah Johnson (Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman) (18). Maggiore's 33 aces rank her second in the conference, one off of the top spot, while Pappas' 29 places her fourth in the Empire 8. On the flip side, Utica has allowed the most service aces in the conference (180, 3.00 per set) to opponents. 
 
No, No, No... Not Today: The Pioneers have been one of the strongest teams around the net this season, offensively and defensively. Utica ranks second in the conference with 80 team blocks (1.33 per set) this year thanks to Brianna Woods' (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) 33 and Lainey Hayden's (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) 17. The defense has also allowed the fourth fewest blocks in the E8 to opponents thus far, entering Friday with 59.5 allowed (0.99 per set). UC also set a conference high with 14 blocks against Houghton on September 24, nine of which came from Woods. 
 
Taming the Cats: The Cazenovia Wildcats (1-10, 0-2 NAC) will play at SUNY Delhi, who defeated UC 3-1 on September 8, on Thursday night prior to traveling to Utica on Friday. Currently on a five-game losing streak, the Wildcats have suffered losses to Medaille, Houghton, Wells, SUNY Canton and SUNY Poly. Karissa Decosse leads the Wildcats offense with 122 points, 90 kills and 23 aces. On defense, Kimberly Rodriguez tops the team with 102 digs while teammate Taylor Kutzuba is averaging 3.03 digs per set. Around the net, Michaela Meyer and Jade Wright lead the unit with 12 blocks each. 
 
Meeting History: UC volleyball is 20-5 all-time against Cazenovia and have taken the last eight meetings between the teams dating back to 2012. In the most recent meeting, the Pioneers defeated the Wildcats 3-0 at home on September 21, 2019 which was the team's second time beating Cazenovia that season. Following Friday's match, UC and Cazenovia will meet one more time this season in what will be the final regular season game for Utica at 7 p.m. on October 29 at Cazenovia. 
 
Up Next: UC will have three games next week, all of which against Empire 8 opponents. The team travels to Sage on October 6 for a 7 p.m. start before hosting Elmira College on October 8 at 6 p.m. and Alfred university on October 9 at 3 p.m.