UTICA, NY – The Utica University volleyball team is set to host its final two regular season matches this week. Both matches are non-conference with the first on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against SUNY Delhi and the second being on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Cazenovia College.
Last Time Out: The Utica University volleyball team fell to Hartwick College 3-1 on Saturday afternoon. The team fought hard, yet fell in four sets, despite holding a lead in the majority of the sets. The Pioneers' offense was clicking today and was led by Eleanor Cepeil's 18 kills which tied her season-high.
Brianna Woods (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and
Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga) also tallied more than four kills each and were vital parts of the offense.
Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee),
McKenna LaPorte (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse), and
Hannah Johnson (Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman) all tallied at least one serving ace and Maggiore led the team with 26 assists. The team's defense came alive late as
Abriana Wadley (Utica, NY/Proctor) and
Caitlyn Esposito (Haddam, CT/Haddam-Killingworth) led the team with four blocks and were followed by Maggiore with two. Cepiel, LaPorte, and
Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) all recorded more than 11 digs and did well at stopping the opposition's attack.
Tickets Punched: The team punched its ticket to the Empire 8 postseason for the first time since 2002. Utica is set to travel to third-seeded Nazareth College for the Empire 8 first round while earlier this season, the Pioneers beat the Golden Flyers for the first time in program history in five sets on September 24th.
On the Brink of History: The team has tied its program record of 14 wins which was set during the 2002 season. Utica will have two attempts to break its program record of wins this week against either Delhi or Cazenovia. The Pioneers' season has been its best in 20 years as the team has already broke its program record with four conference wins this season. This week wraps up a season of the ages for the team and hopes to be the beginning of a new era.
Witnessing Greatness: Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) will polish off her historic career this week. Cepiel has 316 kills this season and needs just 15 more to break the all-time program record of kills in a season. The West Sand Lake, NY native is also currently first all-time in kills per set in a season with 3.43 and has a .24 advantage over second place. The senior is sixth all-time in career kills with 716 and needs just thirteen more to overtake fifth place. Her career number of 2.54 kills per set has her ranked fifth all-time and a strong week can put her into fourth place as she is just .06 behind. She has amassed 336.5 points this season which ranks her eighth all-time for a single season and totaled 801 points over the course of her career which ranks her eighth all-time. Cepiel is also second all-time in points per set and ninth all-time in career digs.
Record Breakers: Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) is having one of the best assisting seasons in program history. The Orangeburg, NY native has 665 assists this season which ranks her sixth all-time for a single season while sitting 35 away from fifth. She is also second all-time in assists per set amongst any player with more than 24 sets played and is just .08 behind the single-season program leader. The junior's serving has also been phenomenal as she is tied for fifth all-time in a season with 63.
Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) is also closing in on the program's top-10 digs per set and looks to continue her fantastic defensive play and break into 10th place for a single season.
Empire 8 Leaders: The Pioneers' successful season has been due to a plethora of player's contributions.
Brianna Woods (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) is second in the Empire 8 in hitting percentage as she has a .310 hitting percentage since returning from an early season injury. Cepiel leads the Empire 8 in kills per set at 3.43 with a .2 lead over second place and has amassed 316 kills which is 47 more than anyone else in the conference. Maggiore is fourth in the E8 in assists per set at 7.31 and second in total assists with 665. She is also the best server in the E8 with a whopping 63 service aces which is 13 more than second place. Defensively, Cepiel is tied for sixth with 3.5 digs per set. Some honorable mentions are
Lauren Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham ), who has totaled 40 service aces this season, and
Peyton Migliaccio (Suffern, NY/Suffern), who has 43 blocks. Their numbers would qualify for top-10 in the Empire 8 however, neither meet the conference requirements of sets played.
Scouting Delhi: The Broncos are 13-9 this season including a whopping 8-0 in the West Division of the North Atlantic Conference. The team has clinched a postseason berth by finishing in first place and is on a three-game win streak after beating SUNY Poly in four sets on Sunday. The offense is led by Stephanie Burke and Sage Renneisen who both have recorded over 192 kills this season and are top-10 in kills in the NAC. Burke and Rebecca Heuler lead the team in kills with 199 kills or more with the latter being number three in the NAC.
Cazenovia Outlook: The Wildcats are 9-15 this season and 4-4 in the West Division of the North Atlantic Conference. The team fell in its last match against SUNY Poly on Friday in four sets. The team will face SUNY Potsdam on Wednesday before clashing with the Pioneers on Thursday. The team has three players with 100 or more kills this season and is led by Karissa Decosse who has recorded 206 kills this season. Decosse is also a force defensively with 208 digs which is second on the team behind Kimberly Rodriguez who has amassed 208 kills this season which is top ten in the NAC.
Up Next: Utica will travel to Nazareth College on Tuesday, November 1 for the first round of the Empire 8 postseason with the time to be determined.
