OSWEGO, NY - The Utica University women's volleyball team impressed on day two of the Oswego State Tournament, collecting 3-0 wins against Marywood and Oswego.
 
Utica 3, Marywood 0
 
The Pioneers had plenty of offense, with Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) leading the way with 13 kills, followed by Megan Wright (Clay Center, KS/Clay Center Community) (9) and Lauren Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) (7). Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) racked up 33 assists while Hannah Johnson (Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman) had two aces, and Cepiel and Jones each added one. Jada Anthony (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South), Meghan Brennan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug), and Jones each had one block in the contest. It was a career game for newcomer Cassi Wagemann (Diamond Point, NY/Lake George), who racked up a whopping 24 digs for her new career-best, while Jones (14) and Cepiel (13) were also very active defensively. 
 
Utica's offense had 43 kills to Marywood's 33 and boasted a .149 attacking percentage to the Pacers' .102. The Pioneers created 18 errors and were very effective on both sides of the ball, leading to the sweep.
 
Utica was rolling, leading 13-4 before Marywood cut the deficit to just five. The Pacers continued to battle and forced a tough stretch for the Pioneers making it a close set, yet Utica remained in the lead for the entire set and won the first set 25-22 on a service error.
 
In set two, the Pioneers relied on their offense to jump out to a 12-7 lead before Marywood knotted the set at 12-12. The teams continued to exchange points back and forth yet Utica used a key 3-0 run to win the set 25-22.
 
The Pacers took charge in the third set, leading 13-8, and eventually 20-13. However, the Utica offense made it close, trailing just 21-18 down the stretch. The Pioneers took momentum and scored seven of the last eight points in the set to complete the 3-0 sweep with another 25-22 set victory.
 
Utica 3, Oswego 0
 
Utica continued its success from the first match into its bout with Oswego sweeping them in three sets. Cepiel had 12 kills while Meghan Brennan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) (10) and Megan Wright (Clay Center, KS/Clay Center Community) (4) followed suit. Maggiore tacked on 25 assists while Wright had two aces, and Johnson and Maggiore each had one. The Pioneers were effective defensively with Caitlyn Esposito (Haddam, CT/Haddam-Killingworth) leading the team with four blocks while Lauren Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) (3) and Jada Anthony (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South) (1) also were key factors. Cepiel led the way with 19 digs while Wagemann tallied 17 and Wright had nine.
 
Utica's offense had 34 kills compared to Oswego's 26 and forced 22 errors and just a minuscule .031 attacking percentage for the Lakers.
 
The teams battled back and forth for the majority of the first set until they held a 17-12 advantage. Oswego threatened to cut the lead to three, yet the Pioneers offense closed out the frame on a 5-0 run to win the first set 25-15.
 
The Lakers held a 7-6 edge in set two and grew it to 22-20. However, Utica remained relentless late in sets and again closed out the second set in 5-0 run fashion to collect a 25-22 set two win.
 
Oswego came out strong again in the third set with a 10-4 lead yet the Pioneers kept chipping away gaining their first lead at 13-12. Oswego boasted a rally to regain a 17-14 edge before the set was tied at 23-23. A Meghan Brennan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) kill and Oswego error led to a 25-23 set victory for Utica.
 
Utica (2-1, 0-0 Empire 8) will remain on the road and face SUNY Cobleskill on Wednesday, September 6 at 7 p.m.