UTICA, NY – The Utica University volleyball team earned a 3-0 sweep over SUNY Cobleskill on Wednesday night at the Clark Athletic Center, taking the match by set scores of 25-18, 25-23, and 25-20.
Trinity Bailey (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) led the Pioneers offensively with 13 kills while hitting .294 on 34 attacks. Elizabeth Hanba (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) added nine kills and 10.5 points, while Layla Rice (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) contributed five kills, seven digs, two aces, and seven points. Alicia Ancewicz (Greenlawn, NY/John Glenn) and Addison Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) combined for 28 assists, with Jones recording a team-high 15 and Ancewicz adding 13. Megan Wright (Clay Center, KS/Clay Center Community) anchored the Utica defense with 14 digs, while Rice added seven and Bailey and Jones each recorded six. As a team, Utica finished with 34 kills on 114 attacks and hit .149 for the match. The Pioneers also recorded six service aces and seven total blocks while holding Cobleskill to a .045 hitting percentage.
Utica jumped out to an early lead in the opening set and used a strong offensive effort to pull away late. The Pioneers held a 15-9 advantage midway through the set before extending their lead to 23-13. Cobleskill responded with five of the next six points to cut the deficit to 23-18, but Utica closed out the set courtesy of a Cobleskill attacking error to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set featured a back-and-forth battle early, with the teams tied at 7-7. Utica then opened up an 11-7 advantage before Cobleskill battled back to make it a one-point set at 16-15. The Pioneers maintained a narrow lead throughout the closing stages and held a 23-22 advantage before taking two of the final three points to secure the 25-23 victory and move ahead 2-0.
Utica came out strong again in the third set, building a 4-1 lead before Cobleskill battled back to take the lead in the set at 7-5. The Pioneers took the lead at 11-7, but the Tigers regained the advantage and led 13-11. The Pioneers responded with a five-point run to take a 16-13 lead, which would bloom to 23-17 before the Pioneers would take the final two points from the Tigers to secure the 3-0 sweep.
With the win, Utica moves to 2-8 on the season (0-0 Empire 8). The Pioneers return to action on Friday, September 18 as the team travels north for the Oswego Invitational. Game one against Bard College is set for 5pm from Oswego, NY.
