OSWEGO, NY - The Utica University volleyball team fell to the Oswego State Lakers 3-0 and the St. Lawrence Saints 3-2 in the team's first day of the Oswego State Tournament.
 
Oswego 3, Utica 0
 
The Pioneers began the first set ahead 4-1 before eventually taking a 14-7 lead. Utica held a steady lead throughout the majority of the first set until the Lakers found an offensive rhythm. Trailing 20-13, Oswego went on a 10-2 run late in the set to draw even at 23-23 before finishing off the comeback for a 25-23 win and 1-0 match advantage. 
 
Oswego used its momentum to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the second set. The Pioneers would battle back and tie the set at 3-3 as it would continue to go back-and-forth until Oswego had a 9-0 scoring run to gain control of the set and go up 22-8. The Lakers would end up winning the set 25-10 and gain a 2-0 match advantage.
 
The third set began going back-and-forth as well, with Utica going up 4-3. The Lakers would go up 8-5 before a Utica scoring run fueled by Meghan Brennan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug ) kill and Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) ace for a 9-8 edge. The rest of the set continued to be a back-and-forth affair with both teams going on two to three point leads just for the opponent to tie the set. The Pioneers were up 20-19 before the Lakers closed the game on a 6-0 scoring run led by Madison Gordon as Oswego finished the straight set sweep.
 
Utica held strong offensively with 23 kills as a unit led by Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) with 10. The team had aces by Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) (2), Cepiel (1), and Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) (1). Maggiore continued her facilitating ways as she recorded 15 assists or more for the eighth time over the last nine matches. Finally, the team held its own on defense with digs by Pappas (8), McKenna LaPorte (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) (6), and Maggiore (6).
 
St Lawrence 3, Utica 2
 
Utica started off the first set with a 4-0 lead thanks to Maggiore assists leading to kills by Caitlyn Esposito (Haddam, CT/Haddam-Killingworth) and Abriana Wadley (Utica, NY/Proctor). The Pioneers kept the offense rolling by setting up each other for kills to jump out to a 15-5 lead. The team jumped ahead 22-8 before a small St. Lawrence run, yet Utica held on to win 25-11 for a 1-0 match advantage.
 
Utica continued its momentum to jump out to a 7-2 lead by a pair of aces by Julia Giroux and Lainey Roman. The Pioneers would extend their lead to 10-5 before an eight point scoring run by St. Lawrence, making it 13-10 in favor of the Saints, while Lauren Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham ) had three aces over the span. St. Lawrence continued its momentum and won the set 25-18 to tie the match at 1-1.
 
Vying to shift the momentum the Pioneers went up 3-1 to begin the third set. However, St. Lawrence would pry right back and go on a scoring run to go ahead 11-5 led by three aces from Keely Worlock. Utica went on to have a run of its own to cut the lead to 11-9 however, St. Lawrence eventually took a commanding 18-12 lead. The Saints would win the set 25-18 to go ahead 2-1 in the match. 
 
Utica bolted out to a 6-1 start in the fourth set but St. Lawrence would close the gap and make the score 7-5 before the teams would start to exchange points for the majority of the set. Utica remained up one or tied throughout the middle of the set before going on a scoring run towards the end for a 23-18 edge. The Pioneers finished off the set with the last few points for the 25-20 win to force a decisive fifth set. 
 
For the final set St. Lawrence possessed a 4-1 advantage before the Pioneers stormed back to even the score. St. Lawrence would then use its offense to create a 12-6 advantage before finishing off a 15-8 set win and the match, 3-2.
 
The Pioneers used both sides of the ball to battle their way to a fifth set. Cepiel led the team with 17 kills followed by Esposito (8), and Brennan (6). Maggiore, LaPorte, and Hannah Johnson (Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman) all accumulated more than two aces each while Maggiore had another phenomenal game with 31 assists. Cepiel, Pappas, and Maggiore held it down defensively with more than 15 digs each.
 
Utica (5-5, 0-0 Empire 8) will face Medaille University at 1 p.m. and SUNY Canton at 3 p.m. on Saturday to wrap up play in the Oswego State Tournament.