UTICA, NY - The Utica University volleyball team will look to build off of its Saturday tri-match sweep with a whopping six matches this week. The Pioneers will open home court at 6 p.m. on Tuesday against Hamilton College in its First Responders Match before traveling to SUNY Cobleskill at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The team will then take part in the North County Classic at SUNY Potsdam where it will battle Pratt and Elmira College on September 9 as well as SUNY Potsdam and Hilbert College on September 10.
Follow Along: On Tuesday, fans can watch live or follow with live stats through
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. Potsdam will provide live video for each of Utica's four matches during the weekend through
https://potsdambears.com/sports/2015/9/4/WVB_0904155130.aspx as well as live stats at
https://potsdambears.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary.
Last Time Out: Utica started the 2022 season with a sweep at the SUNY Poly tri-match on September 3 after defeating the SUNY Poly Wildcats 3-0 before responding with a 3-1 win over the Bard College Raptors. Against Poly,
Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) finished the match with 13 of the Pioneers' 33 kills while
Meghan Brennan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug ) and
Peyton Migliaccio (Suffern, NY/Suffern) had five each. Cepiel also led the team with 18 digs followed by
Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) with 11 and
McKenna LaPorte (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) with six.
Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) totaled six of Utica's 13 service aces while
Hannah Johnson (Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman),
Lauren Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham ) and
Brenna Stanton (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) all had two. In the win over Bard, Cepiel led the team again with 18 kills while Maggiore and
Lauren Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham ) had six each. Maggiore also totaled 29 of Utica's 40 assists.
Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro) ended the match with a team high 18 digs, followed by Jones with 12.
First Responders Night: This year will be the first annual Utica University Women's Volleyball First Responders match against Hamilton College. The game is in honor of first responders not only in the Mohawk Valley, but across the country who risk their lives every day to keep the community safe. This past summer the Utica University women's volleyball team sold t-shirts to raise money and awareness for the Believe 271 Foundation which provides support for local heroes.
Hot Start: Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) impressed in her senior season debut on Saturday. Over two matches she tallied 27 digs and 31 kills while averaging 4.43 kills per set. Cepiel started the SUNY Poly tri-match with 13 kills and 18 digs in a straight set sweep of Poly before finishing the day with 18 kills, nine digs and two block assists in Utica's 3-1 win over Bard. In all, Cepiel recorded a .225 attack percentage over seven sets. Cepiel currently leads the Empire 8 with her kills per set mark as well as with 4.64 points per set.
Here to Assist: Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) created opportunity after opportunity for her offense on Saturday as the junior totaled 58 assists over the pair of Saturday matches. She compiled 29 assists against both Poly and Bard which currently puts her in second in the Empire 8 averaging 8.29 assists per set. Maggiore went on to record seven kills on a 29.2 hitting percentage over both games as well as 12 digs and four total blocks.
About Hamilton: The Continentals will be playing its first match of 2022 when it makes the short travel to Miga Court on Tuesday. The team is coming off of a 7-13 season where it fell to Bowdoin 3-0 in the NESCAC quarterfinals. Hamilton will lean on Kate Carman and Deirdre Corrigan, who finished as the team's top-two scorers in 2021.
Scouting Cobleskill: The Fighting Tigers are currently 1-2 this season with a win over Baruch College and losses to Moravian University and Olivet College. MacKenzie Larson leads the team with 38.5 points as well as with 32 kills and six service aces while Alexis Miranda has totaled 20 kills through 10 sets played. Larson has also anchored the defense early on as she's the team leader with 28 digs. The Pioneers lead the all-time series between the programs 11-3 however, Cobleskill has claimed the last two with wins in 2019 and 2021.
North County Opponents: Utica will begin the North County Classic against Pratt Institute who is currently 2-0 and will take on Potsdam before battling the Pioneers. In its first two games, Pratt has displayed a balanced offensive attack as Rose Moon, Emily Sontag, Josie Johnson and Olivia Julich each have 15 or more kills through seven sets. Following Pratt, Utica will face familiar foe Elmira College in what will be a non-conference match. The Soaring Eagles are 2-1 so far this season and will play three more matches prior to facing Utica. Elmira has three players with 12 or more kills through three matches in Samantha Garry, Calli Vocke and Sydney Meyers. The team also has five players with at least 10 digs while Garry leads the team with five blocks. The Pioneers will begin Saturday against the 2-1 Potsdam Bears who will play two more matches prior to facing Utica. Jessica Ader has impressed through her first three outings as she has tallied 30 kills and 38 digs while Mikayla Myers has totaled 23 kills and five blocks thus far. The Pioneers will then conclude the North County Classic and its week against Hilbert College. Hilbert is 1-2 thus far and will have three more outings before Saturday's contest against Utica. Four players currently have double figure kills but none more than Jenna Revak who has 16 over eight sets played. Revak is also the team leader with 24 digs.
Up Next: Utica will travel to Cazenovia at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 14.
