UTICA, NY – The Utica University women's volleyball team fell to St. John Fisher University in three sets (18-25, 24-26, 14-25) on Saturday afternoon at Miga Court inside the Clark Athletic Center.
Trinity Bailey (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) led the Utica offense with nine kills while adding nine digs and one service ace.
Mackenzie O'Brien (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) followed with six kills on a .250 hitting percentage, while also contributing one solo block and one block assist.
Megan Wright (Clay Center, KS/Clay Center Community) anchored the Pioneer defense with a team-high 15 digs, while
Alicia Ancewicz (Greenlawn, NY/John Glenn) recorded 12 assists, eight digs and one service ace.
Addison Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) chipped in six assists, while
Emylie Stanton (Latham, NY/Shaker) added three kills, five digs and one service ace.
The opening set saw both sides trade points early, with Utica taking a 4-3 advantage following a St. John Fisher attack error. The Cardinals responded with a three-point run to take a 6-4 lead before extending their advantage to 13-8. O'Brien helped keep the Pioneers within reach with a pair of early kills, while Bailey added two kills of her own as the set progressed. St. John Fisher continued to build its lead, eventually reaching set point at 24-14. Utica answered with four consecutive points, highlighted by a Stanton kill and a pair of Cardinal attack errors, cutting the deficit to 24-18. However, St. John Fisher secured the final point to take the opening set, 25-18.
Utica came out strong in the second set, jumping ahead 3-1 behind an O'Brien kill and a Stanton service ace. The teams continued to exchange points before St. John Fisher established a 15-10 advantage midway through the frame. The Pioneers battled back, using kills from Bailey and
Arianna Williams (North Chili, NY/Churchville-Chili) to cut into the deficit. Trailing 21-17, Utica put together a three-point run capped off by an Ancewicz service ace, bringing the score to 21-20. The Cardinals regained a 24-22 advantage, putting themselves one point away from taking a two-set lead. Bailey responded with back-to-back kills, including one off a Jones assist, to even the score at 24-24. Despite the late rally, St. John Fisher answered with consecutive kills to claim the second set, 26-24.
St. John Fisher opened the third set with four unanswered points before Bailey put Utica on the board with a kill. The Cardinals continued to control the early momentum, extending their lead to 9-3. Utica responded with kills from Bailey and Stanton, along with a solo block from O'Brien, to pull within three at 9-6. Later in the frame, Bailey delivered a service ace to cut the deficit to 13-10, but the Cardinals answered with a 6-1 run to extend their advantage to 19-11. O'Brien contributed two late kills for the Pioneers, but St. John Fisher maintained control down the stretch to close out the set, 25-14, and secure the three-set victory.
With the loss, the Pioneers move to 9-18 overall and 5-6 in Empire 8 play. Utica will conclude its regular season on Thursday, November 5, traveling to Rochester, NY to take on the University of Rochester at 7:00 PM.
