UTICA, NY - The Utica University volleyball team is set to begin a three-match road trip headlined with two crucial Empire 8 bouts. The team will face SUNY Delhi on Tuesday, October 24 at 7 p.m. before clashing with St. John Fisher University on Friday, October 27 at 7 p.m. and Nazareth University on Saturday, October 28 at 2 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Delhi will provide live video here and live stats here. Fisher will provide live video here and live stats here. Nazareth will provide both live video and/or live stats here.
 
Last Time Out:  The team fell to Alfred 3-2 in a thrilling match that featured plenty of long rallies. Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) also became the all-time program leader with her 1,030th career kill which included a brief moment of celebration for her accomplishment. Cepiel led the team with 14 kills while Meghan Brennan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) (11) was also fantastic on the offensive end. Peyton Migliaccio (Suffern, NY/Suffern) injected her energy into the attack and sported a season-high seven kills. Cepiel and Lauren Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) led the Pioneers with four aces each while Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) added one. Migliaccio was unstoppable defensively, registering a career-high seven blocks while Jones and Jada Anthony (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South) each added five. The team's 12 blocks were the most in a match this season. Jones tallied 18 assists while Maggiore (11) and Cassi Wagemann (Diamond Point, NY/Lake George) (4) were also prime contributors. The trio of Cepiel, Wagemann, and Dahlia Aguilera (Hicksville, NY/Hicksville) were dominant again with each recording double-digit digs and Aguliera setting a new career-high for the second consecutive outing. The Pioneers offense was clicking early, grasping a quick 7-1 edge in set one. The team increased its lead to 13-5 before Alfred closed the gap to just 13-12. The teams continued to exchange points and Utica captured the first set 25-20 after forcing an error. Utica came out strong again in set two with an 11-6 advantage before Alfred cut the deficit to just one. The team's each had a five-point run before the Saxons won set two with 25-22 win to tie the match at 1-1. Set three featured a ton of early lead changes before Utica held a small 16-14 advantage. The set was tied 21-21 and then 23-23 before a Brennan kill sealed a 25-23 set win for Utica and the team took a 2-1 match lead. The Saxons came out firing in set four with an 8-2 edge. Alfred's offense kept rolling and extended its edge to 21-10. Yet, Utica kept chipping away down the stretch however the Saxons won the set 25-17 to tie the match at 2-2. Alfred opened up a 6-1 lead in set five yet a seven-point Pioneers run gave them an 8-6 advantage. The set was back and forth with an incredible 11 lead changes during the frame that resulted in the Saxons stealing the set 16-14 and winning the match 3-2.
 
Playoff Bound: For the second consecutive season the Pioneers are heading to the Empire 8 Postseason Tournament. The team is currently the No. 6 seed and has clinched a postseason berth by virtue of head-to-head tiebreakers over Elmira, Sage and Houghton. Utica can finish as high as fourth or as low as sixth. Utica would lose head-to-head tiebreakers on Hartwick, Keuka and Alfred. Utica plays Fisher and Nazareth this weekend and looks to move up a few spots in the conference standings.
 
Numero Uno: Graduate student Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) made history this past weekend becoming the all-time program leader with her 1,030th career kill. She is still climbing the all-time leaderboard in digs and points in which she is already top-five in both. The West Sand Lake, NY native turned in another impressive weekend racking up 25 kills and 33 digs over the two matches.
 
Raisin the Roof: The Pioneers were phenomenal down low in their match against Alfred racking up a season-high 12 blocks. Peyton Migliaccio (Suffern, NY/Suffern) led the way with a career-high seven blocks while Jada Anthony (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South) and Lauren Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) tallied five. Meghan Brennan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) added three blocks and Utica's defense heating up is just what the doctor ordered heading into the final week of regular season play.
 
Can Ya Dig It?: Meghan Brennan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug), Dahlia Aguilera (Hicksville, NY/Hicksville), and Cassi Wagemann (Diamond Point, NY/Lake George) all turned in impressive outings this past weekend. Brennan tallied 16 kills, 11 digs, and five blocks while making her presence felt on offense with multiple impressive kills. Aguilera blossomed this weekend playing fantastic in her nine sets racking up 18 digs including setting back-to-back career highs in digs. Her elevated play has been a crucial part of the team's success and she has given the rotation another asset defensively. Wagemann turned in 28 digs over her last two appearances and has been the backbone of the defense all season tallying 186 digs this season which ranks second on the Pioneers.
 
Scouting Delhi: The Broncos are 6-14 this season and sport a 4-4 conference record thus far. The team fell 3-0 in its last match to Eastern Nazarene on Saturday, October 21. The duo of Chloe Elsenbeck and Sage Renneisen lead the offensive charge with each tallying over 128 kills this season. Elsenbeck is also the Broncos top server with 48 aces this season which is 21 more than anyone else on the team. Madelyn Diep is the team's top defender with 214 digs while Katelyn Babcock is a force down low with an incredible 49 blocks this season.
 
Fisher Preview: The Cardinals have clinched a top-two seed in the Empire 8 Postseason Tournament and sport a 15-8 overall record and are a perfect 6-0 in conference play. In its last match, the team swept Houghton University on Thursday, October 19. The duo of Delayne Young and Kaylene Noble are fantastic offensively with each racking up at least 216 kills this season with Young;s 264 ranking fourth in the contest. The team has steady serving with five players having at least 22 service aces this season. Kiera Hartpence is one of the conference's best defenders with an incredible 325 digs this season, which is second in the Empire 8. Ana Gutman is the top blocker in the conference with 73 which is 16 more than anyone else in the Empire 8.
 
Looking at Naz: The Golden Flyers have also clinched an Empire 8 Postseason berth and can finish as either the fourth, fifth, or sixth seed. Nazareth is currently 8-13 with a 4-2 conference record thus far. The team beat Houghton University 3-0 in its last match on Saturday, October 21. Tessa Grover is second in the Empire 8 with 276 kills this season while Leah Fusilli and Rylie Loomis each have over 124 this season. The team has a trio of players with more than 30 service aces in Grover, Fusilli, and Ella Kules. The duo of Jenna Mattison and Fusilli are dynamic defensively with each accumulating more than 233 digs which are both top-10 ranks in the conference.

Up Next: The team will travel to face SUNY Poly on Wednesday, November 1 at 7 p.m.