UTICA, NY - The Utica University volleyball team begins a busy week as it has three Empire 8 matches this week. The team hosts Keuka College on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before beginning its five-game road trip. The team travels to Elmira, NY to face Elmira College on Friday at 7 p.m. before visiting Alfred University on Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend Wednesday's home match can tune in with live video and/or stats through https://bit.ly/2wtxUV5. Elmira will provide live video and stats through https://bit.ly/2xvMiwx and Alfred's live stats and video are accessible through https://bit.ly/2H8K7Gx. 
 
Last Time Out: The team beat the Wells College Express 3-0 early Saturday afternoon. The win extended the team's win streak to three games. The Pioneers' offense continued to create and amassed 42 kills today. The team leaders were Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) with 15, Brianna Woods (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) (eight), and Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga) (six). Utica was able to tally nine aces as Maggiore, Woods, and Jones all eclipsed two or more aces. Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) continued to set up her teammates well as she totaled 36 assists. Defensively, the team had 47 digs and Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) had a phenomenal performance with 18 digs. She was able to help the offense get going and help the setters create plenty of points.
 
Chasing History: The Pioneers have Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) and Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) both chasing career and single-season accolades this season. Cepiel has amassed 628 kills in her career which has her seventh all-time and a chance to reach the top-five by the season's conclusion. She is also one dig away from joining the all-time top-10 digs leaders as well as the top-10 points per set in program history. Maggiore currently has 474 assists this season which is second in the Empire 8 and has her on the cusp of the Pioneer top-10 single-season marks. Her outstanding season of assisting has her at 7.41 assists per set which is currently first all-time for any player who eclipsed over 21 sets played in a season. The pair look to continue their dominance and keep climbing the record books and aid the Pioneers in winning matches.
 
Stat Sheet Stuffer: Peyton Migliaccio (Suffern, NY/Suffern) continues to stuff the stats sheet with her excellent all-around play. She is the team's premier blocker and has amassed 34 on the season which is nearly double any other player. The Suffern native is second on the team in kills with 66 and has heated up in this department with 10 kills over her last two games. Her offensive hot streak has her third on the team in points with 89 and she looks to eclipse 100 points for the first time in her young career.
 
Scouting Keuka College: The Wolves are 4-10 this season and are 0-2 in Empire 8 play. On Saturday, Keuka hosted a tri-match and was able to sweep Hilbert 3-0 and beat SUNY Poly 3-1. Megan McCann, Camey Knapp, and Syndey Haust lead the charge for the offense as they have all eclipsed 76 or more points and 59 or more kills. The team's serving has been on par as Caitlynne Marczyk leads the Empire 8 in .77 service aces per set. Emma Sipos and Ava Hubbard anchor the defense and have both tallied more than 100 digs this season with Sipos being seventh in the Empire 8 in digs per set.
 
Looking at Elmira: The Soaring Eagles are 5-12 on the year and 0-2 in Empire 8 play. Elmira traveled to Houghton for an Empire 8 match on Saturday, yet fell to the Highlanders 3-0. Elmira will travel to Alfred before clashing with the Pioneers on Friday night. Amelia Martin and Samantha Garry are the key playmakers on offense and have tallied more than 113 points and are approaching 100 kills this season. Defensively, the Soaring Eagles have four players over 100 digs and have been a fine defensive team this season.
 
Alfred Outlook: The Alfred Saxons are 0-2 in Empire 8 play and 3-8 overall this season. In its last match, Alfred lost to Alfred State 3-0 on Saturday. The Saxons are led by Jamie Chun and Casey Grange who both have amassed over 128 points this season and over 108 kills. Defensively the team has three players with over 115 digs in Chun, Darian Ortiz, and Anjoeline Armstrong. Ortiz and Armstrong have been terrific and average over 3.22 digs per set. Armstrong is eighth in the Empire 8 in digs per game and the Saxons look to utilize her to turn defense into offense.
 
Up Next: Utica will continue its road trip and travel to Houghton, NY to face Houghton University on October 14 at 7 p.m.