UTICA, NY - The Utica University volleyball team is set to open the 2025 home slate this week as the team hosts the SUNY Canton Kangaroos on Friday, September 5 at 7pm on Miga Court inside the Clark Athletic Center. The team will then travel on Saturday, September 6 to Bard College to take on the Bard Tri-Match. Game one against the host Bard is set to begin at 11:00am, and game two against Hunter College is slated for 1pm. 
 
Follow Along: Live video for Friday's contest can be found here, and live stats can be found here. Live video for game one of Saturday's slate can be found here, and live stats can be found here. Live video for game two can be found here, and live stats can be found here. 
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers hit the court on Saturday to complete their Oneonta Invitational slate. To open the day, Trinity Bailey (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) continued her dominance, as the junior had complete control of the Wildcat defense en route to an outrageous 15 kills and five service aces. Bailey was extremely precise, producing an unbelievable .652 hitting percentage. Kendall Turner (Huber Heights, OH/Wayne) had a stellar Saturday debut, as she slammed down seven kills and secured eight digs to pace the Pioneers. Turner, along with Lauren Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham), were the glue against Penn College, with Jones also adding five kills, eight digs, three block assists, two service aces, and 12 assists. Alicia Ancewicz (Greenlawn, NY/John Glenn) procured 10 assists without recording a single set error. After demolishing the Wildcats, the Pioneers turned their attention to Vassar. At the forefront of the Pioneers' net presence was Jada Anthony (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South), who grabbed two solo blocks and three block assists. Jones also kept up her great form, securing 10 digs while also helping the offense with five kills and three service aces, with all three coming in a row during the crucial third set. Ancewicz also aided the defense, managing to get seven kills. The Pioneers' best defender in game two, though, was their defensive specialist, Megan Wright (Clay Center, KS/Clay Center Community). Her various bids saw her grab a team-high 16 digs. 
 
Athlete of the Week: Trinity Bailey (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) put together an impressive four game weekend to begin her junior campaign. The outside hitter recorded 49 kills over a 2-2 weekend for the Pioneers, averaging 3.5 kills per set with a .254 hitting percentage across the four game slate. Bailey was solid from the service line for Utica, registering a team high seven service aces and a .977 serving percentage over the four games. Against Penn College, Bailey shined with 15 kills and a .652 hitting percentage with zero attacking errors. Bailey was perfect from the service line with a 1.000 serving percentage, managing five service aces. On the conference leaderboard after opening weekend, Bailey currently sits at sixth in hitting percentage, second in kills per set, and sits atop the conference leaderboard in points per set, averaging 4.04.
 
Freshman Standout: Pioneer newcomer Kendall Turner (Huber Heights, OH/Wayne) made her presence known over the Pioneers' four game slate last week, registering 25 kills, averaging 1.79 kills per set, with four service aces through four games. Turner was also responsible for a total of 30.5 points, averaging 2.18 points per set. On the defensive side, Turner registered a total of 30 digs with a .919 reception percentage, as well as lending a helping hand on three blocking efforts. Against Baruch, Turner managed seven kills with a .429 hitting percentage, while her best defensive outing would come against Vassar, recording a .900 reception percentage through 20 attempts with eight digs. 
 
Getting After It: A group of Pioneers have been everywhere for Utica in Lauren Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham), Jada Anthony (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South), and Megan Wright (Clay Center, KS/Clay Center Community). Jones currently holds the team lead in service aces with seven, and has not yet made a service error through four games. Jones also managed to dish out 35 assists, averaging 2.5 kills per set. Aside from lending a helping hand to the Pioneer hitters, Jones has found herself in the thick of offensive opportunities as well, registering 25 kills with 34 points to her name. On the defensive side, Jones has proved she can do it all, managing 43 digs with four block assists. Anthony has been stellar at the netfront for the Pioneers, managing three solo blocks with another four assists for the team high seven blocks. Anthony has also found herself as a comfortable piece of the Pioneer offense, managing the second highest hitting percentage on the team at .235 with 14 kills. On defense, Megan Wright (Clay Center, KS/Clay Center Community) has been everywhere for Utica, leading the team, and finding herself in the top five in the conference in digs with 67. Wright has also been a solid piece of the service reception for Utica, recording a .880 reception percentage with only nine errors through four games. 
 
Scouting Canton: The SUNY Canton Kangaroos have not found themselves in the win column yet this season, posting an 0-4 record over the opening weekend. As a team, the Kangaroos have registered 115 kills with 103 attacking errors. On defense, Canton has averaged 16.9 digs per set with 39 reception errors. Brooke Hite leads the team offensively with 28 kills, averaging two kills per set. Emerson Coulter has also been a leader on the offense for the Kangaroos with 23 kills, and is averaging the most points per set on the team with 2.5. On the defensive side of the ball, Isabella Cruz leads the team in digs with 56, averaging four digs per set. McKenna Pelech has been a mainstay on the Canton netfront registering two solo blocks with three block assists this season. The Pioneers have not squared off against the Kangaroos since the 2022 season, where the Pioneers took the contest by a score of 3-1. This will not be the only time that the Pioneers will see Canton this season, as both teams will be in attendance at the Oswego Invitational later this season, where Utica will open the invitational slate against Canton. 
 
Breaking Down Bard: The Bard College Raptors have posted a 1-2 record through the opening weekend, with the team's win coming over fellow Empire 8 Conference member Elmira in a five set thriller. Alex Beer leads the team with 28 kills, averaging just over 2.5 kills per set. Beer also leads the team in points with 31.5 to her name so far this season, Becca Wintjen has been the one that has lent the most helping hands to the Raptor attack this season, dishing out a team high 71 assists. Fernanda Julian has been the team's leader from the service line, registering nine service aces. On defense, Ella Small and Wintjen have been doing the brunt of the work with Small registering a team high 39 digs, while Wintjen has 27. Carmen Merrick has done a lot of the work at the netfront for the Raptors, registering seven total blocks through three games. In program history, the Pioneers have only squared off against the Raptors two times, with Utica taking both matches. The last time these two met was in 2022, where the Pioneers walked away with a 3-1 win over the Raptors. 
 
A Look at Hunter: The Hunter College Hawks dropped both of their opening weekend contests, falling to both Farmingdale State and Rutgers-Newark. Through the team's two games, Simone McIntyre leads the Hawks with 16 kills and is tied for the team lead in points with 17. Amina Moummad has tallied 15 kills with 17 points to her name this season. Moummad is also tied for the team lead in service aces with two. Madeline Snyder has been lending a helping hand on the Hawk offense, dishing out 40 assists and is averaging 5.71 assists per set. Despite playing primarily as a setter, Snyder has recorded a team high 26 digs, averaging 3.71 digs per set. Libero Natalie Morrill has registered 20 digs this season, with a .857 reception percentage. At the netfront, Ana Duran has been a workhorse, registering six solo blocks this season. The Pioneers have not squared off against the Hawks since 2018, where Hunter took the matchup by a score of 3-0. 
 
Up Next: The Pioneers continue the road trip by traveling to North Adams, Massachusetts to take on the MCLA Trailblazers. Game time on Wednesday, September 10 is set for 6pm.