ROCHESTER, NY - The Utica University volleyball team won 3-2 against Nazareth College in the Empire 8 Tournament First Round. The thrilling win sends the Pioneers to the Empire 8 Semifinals for the first time in program history.
 
Nazareth started out the first set hot and led 12-2 in the blink of an eye. The Golden Flyers offense was superb and was cruising during the first set and led 23-8. The Pioneers cut into the deficit a bit, yet Nazareth won the first set 25-11 and took a 1-0 edge in the match. 
 
The Pioneers' offense came alive during the second set as the teams were exchanging blows. Utica finally held an 8-5 advantage before the match was tied at 9-9. Kills by Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga) and Abriana Wadley (Utica, NY/Proctor) helped the Pioneers regain a lead and put the team up 13-10 in the set. Utica led 17-16 before Nazareth came back to cut the lead to just 17-16. The Pioneers held onto a 20-19 edge before a four-point scoring run fueled by McKenna LaPorte's (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) terrific serving. Utica held on and won the set 25-20 to even the match at 1-1. 
 
The Utica offense continued to stay hot as the team quickly opened a 4-1 lead in the third set. Martin tacked on another kill to help the Pioneer lead increase to 10-5, yet Nazareth would cut the lead to 10-9. The Golden Flyers' offense started to find its rhythm and held a 19-15 edge as its serving was on par. Nazareth continued to generate offense and won the set 25–19 and held a 2-1 advantage in the match.
 
Utica began a crucial fourth set down 2-0 before evening the score on a Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) attack. Nazareth's serving continued to produce and gave the team an 11-5 edge. Utica would not give up as the team kept themselves in it the entire set and trailed just 16-14. The Golden Flyers held an 18-16 edge before Utica went on an incredible 10-0 scoring run to lead the set 24-18. The run saw Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) and Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga) pave the way with kills and Peyton Migliaccio (Suffern, NY/Suffern) held it down defensively with a block during the burst. The Pioneers held on to win the crucial set 25-19 and tied the match at 2-2 to keep its season alive.
 
The fifth set was one for the ages and the biggest single set in program history to this point as the teams continued to exchange points. Utica led 3-1 before Nazareth gained a 4-3 edge. Then the Pioneers held a 7-6 advantage before the Golden Flyers went up 8-7 in the set. A block by Wadley and Caitlyn Esposito (Haddam, CT/Haddam-Killingworth) gave Utica a 12-10 edge before Nazareth tied the set yet again. The set was knotted at 13-13 before a Wadley kill and Lauren Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) attack won the Pioneers the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.
 
The Pioneers' offense started to get rolling, yet the defense was superb with every team member leaving it all on the court. The offense was led by Martin with 12 kills and followed by Cepiel with nine and Wadley who tied her season high of eight kills. The Utica defense was magnificent as the team totaled 11 blocks as Migliaccio had five followed by Wadley with four and Esposito with three. The trio of Pappas, Cepiel, and LaPorte continued its dominant run as each member totaled more than nine digs for the fifth consecutive game.
 
Utica (17-11, 4-5 Empire 8) will travel to face Hartwick College in the Empire 8 Semifinals on Friday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. at St. John Fisher. The team squared off with Hartwick on October 22 and lost a battle in four sets, yet looks to keep its momentum rolling for its first-ever Empire 8 Semifinals appearance.