Women's Volleyball | 11/1/2018 2:46:00 PM
FREDONIA, N.Y. -- The next Fredonia women's volleyball match is Friday in the SUNYAC semifinal round vs. top-seed Geneseo at Carl Schrader Gymnasium. The winner advances to Saturday's championship game for a chance to represent the conference in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
"We have earned a great opportunity," Fredonia Head Coach
Geoff Braun said, "and I am excited to see what we do with it. This is what we work hard for all year long."
As No. 4 seed, the Blue Devils (22-9) advanced to the semifinals with a 3-2 win Tuesday over No. 5 seed Potsdam at Dods Hall.
SallyAnne Rudny (Jamestown, N.Y. / Southwestern) had 14 kills, four service aces and 22 digs;
Kailey Falk (York, N.Y. / Our Lady of Mercy) 19 kills and 22 digs;
Christie Ackendorf (Buffalo, N.Y. / Sweet Home) 11 kills and a 28.6 hitting percentage; and
Emma Falk (York, N.Y. / Our Lady of Mercy) eight kills with a 37.5 hitting percentage, and seven total blocks.
"The win on Tuesday," Braun said, "gives us some confidence that we can perform in a high-pressure situation."
The Knights (21-9) are the No. 1 seed after posting a 9-0 record in conference pool play. They reached the 9-0 mark with a 3-1 win over the Blue Devils (22-9) on Oct. 20, in Schrader Gym. The Knights had 51 kills to 44 by Fredonia. Rudny was Fredonia's top hitter with 15 kills and a hitting percentage of 27.3 percent. Bridget Lougen (15 kills; 32.4 percent) and Kiersten Colvin (9 kills; 40.0 percent) led Geneseo in hitting.
"I like that we are playing in a gym we just played in a couple weeks ago," Braun added. "We are familiar with the venue and with our opponent."
This is the third straight year Fredonia and Geneseo will meet in the SUNYAC Tournament. The Blue Devils were 3-0 winners in a semifinal match last year at Brockport. Geneseo won the 2016 meeting, 3-0, in a first-rounder at Dods Hall.
For the record: Geneseo was picked for second and Fredonia for fourth in the coaches' pre-season poll … defending champ Brockport was upset by Oswego, 3-2, in the other first-round match Tuesday. The Golden Eagles were trying to win their fourth straight SUNYAC title. Instead, 6-seed Oswego (19-13) will meet 2-seed New Paltz (24-7) at 4 p.m. in Friday's other semifinal … the championship game is 4 p.m. Saturday at Geneseo.
