UTICA, NY – The Utica University volleyball team is set to host two critical conference matchups to finish off its Empire 8 regular season slate. On Friday at 6 p.m. the Pioneers will host Russell Sage College for its senior night before hosting Hartwick College at 2 p.m. on Saturday for the team's Breast Cancer Awareness Game.  
 
Follow Along: Utica will provide live video and/or stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers traveled to Medaille University where they competed in a tri-match against Medaille and William and Smith College. Utica fell to Medaille 3-1 and lost to William and Smith by a score of 3-0. Against Medaille, the Pioneers put up a strong fight in every set with scores of 25-17 Medaille, 25-22 Medaille, 25-23 Utica, and the deciding set 25-22 Medaille. The offense for the Pioneers was led by Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) with 15 kills, along with Brianna Woods (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) with nine kills and Meghan Brennan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug ) who recorded 7 kills. Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) kept the Pioneers in the match with four serving aces along with Hannah Johnson (Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman) who recorded three herself. The defense was highlighted by Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) who had 25 digs along with Cepiel and Maggiore who recorded 20 and 13 digs themselves. Later that afternoon, against William and Smith, the Pioneers were beaten in all three sets of the latter of the doubleheader on the day. In the defeat, Cepiel once again led the offense with nine kills while Brennan recorded eight. Maggiore once again provided excellent serving for the Pioneers with four serving aces again. On the defensive end, Caitlyn Esposito (Haddam, CT/Haddam-Killingworth) recorded 3 blocks, Maggiore had two and Cepiel had one. Pappas once again led the Pioneers with 13 digs and Cepiel recorded 10. 
 
Senior Night: Prior to Friday's match against Russell Sage, the Utica volleyball program will take a moment to recognize its four seniors: Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names), McKenna Laporte, Brenna Stanton (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango), and Abrianna Wadley.  
 
Breast Cancer Awareness Game: Saturday will be Utica University Volleyballs' annual dig pink game. Every year the Utica Volleyball team raises hundreds of dollars for a breast cancer organization. This year, the proceeds are going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, whose focus is on providing resources for those affected by breast cancer. The team is thankful for any contributions that can be made and our hearts go out to any families that have been impacted and those currently fighting breast cancer. Throughout the game, there will be raffle drawings available for fans to participate towards a good cause.
 
Playoff Scenarios: Utica (3-4 Empire 8) is currently the No. 6 seed, as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker on Keuka. The Pioneers currently hold head-to-head tiebreakers over Nazareth, Keuka, and Alfred. Utica can finish as high as fourth with two wins and two Nazareth losses and one Keuka loss. The team would hold the tiebreaker in a three-team tie with Nazareth and Keuka. However, Utica would be eliminated with two losses.

Where We Stand: The Pioneers are 13-10 thus far this season and are 3-4 in Empire 8 Conference play. Utica currently sits in a tie for fifth in the Empire 8 conference with Keuka (who they hold the tiebreaker over). With their final two conference matchups this weekend, Utica will look to secure themselves a bid in the Empire 8 playoff tournament for the first time since 2002 (excluding the shortened 2020 season). The Utica offense has been consistent all season as the Pioneers sit second in the conference in total kills with 820 as well as third in the conference in serving aces with 207. The Pioneers get it done on the defensive end as well as they force their opponents into errors frequently holding them to a .140 hitting percentage. The team is also second in the conference in blocks per set and third in the conference in digs.  
 
One For the Record Books: The Pioneers are one win shy of tying the program record of 14 wins in a season set in 2002 while already having secured the most conference wins in a single season in program history. Individually, Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) currently sits in sixth place in the all-time kills and looks to climb the ranks this weekend. Cepiel is also 10^th all-time in career digs with 782. Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) currently sits seventh all-time in single-season assists with 598 along with 7.38 assists per set which ranks third all-time in program history and will look to build on her strong season this week.  
 
Krystell Clear: Sophomore Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) was the leader on the defensive end last week for the Pioneers as she totaled 51 digs to pace Utica in their three matches last week. She recorded a monster 25 digs vs Medaille along with 13 digs a piece against Houghton, and William and Smith. On the season Pappas is third in the Empire 8 in total digs with 308 and ranks second in digs per set with 3.95. The Owensboro, KY native has been a defensive force for the Pioneers this season and looks to continue building on her great season this weekend in the Pioneer's two critical conference matches.  
 
Scouting Sage: The Russell Sage Gators are 4-19 on the season and 1-6 in Empire 8 Conference play. In the team's last match, it fell to Alfred University 3-1. For Sage, Celia Gagnon leads the offensive attack with an impressive 232 kills on the season which ranks third in the conference. The Gators' defense is highlighted by conference leader Elaina Moisidis who has a total of 421 digs with a whopping 4.9 digs/set.  
 
About Hartwick: The Hartwick Hawks currently sit at 15-4 on the season and are second in the conference with a 6-1 record in E8 play. The Hawks are coming off a 3-1 win over Elmira and currently have a four-match winning streak. Hartwick has a balanced offensive attack with four players with over 100 kills. They are led by Kaileigh Brandow who has 204 sits which is sixth in the conference. Hartwick is equally balanced on the defensive end with five players with over 100 digs on the season and is second in the conference in total blocks. Hartwick will be a strong test for the Pioneers this Saturday.  
 
Up Next: Utica will host SUNY Delhi in a non-conference matchup at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 25.