Geneseo volleyball put on stunning performance at RIT Invitational
The Geneseo women’s volleyball team won three of their four matches at the RIT Invitational last week. After a 0-3 loss early Friday evening, the team bounced back and defeated Nazareth three sets to nil just a few hours later. The momentum carried over into Saturday as they bested RIT 3-1, and pummeled Lasell University 3-0 shortly after.
The singular loss on Friday was at the hands of Mount Union, a 13-3 team from Ohio. The Knights came out with a slow start and unfortunately never found the groove they needed. The first set stayed close, and junior opposite hitter Julia Wallace made it exciting with a kill very late to erase a Mount Union set point. Unable to hold on, the Knights lost 25-23 in the first set, followed by 25-16 and 25-14 in the remaining sets.
Refusing to let a loss slow them down, Geneseo went on to dominate Nazareth in dramatic fashion. Senior middle blocker Jackie Borland put on a stunning performance with seven kills in just nine attempts, an impressive .778 hitting percentage. The first set was tied at 14, but not for long, as Geneseo went on a four-point run to set up a 25-19 victory to start the match. The following two sets ended in favor of the Knights with scores of 25-19 and 25-18 to seal the sweep.
Saturday started off with yet another Geneseo win, this time against RIT, who hosted the invitational. After keeping the first set tight, Wallace tallied two kills to lead a rally that ultimately led to a 25-21 victory for the Knights. The second set was off to a rocky start where Geneseo was down 10-2, but an outstanding serving run from junior outside hitter Linda Rossi sparked a comeback like no other. Set point was claimed by sophomore outside hitter Shannon Zembrzycki, who gave Geneseo a 2-0 lead with a kill. The third set was a struggle for the Knights as they allowed a 15-25 RIT victory. That was merely a hiccup for the Knights as the fourth set sealed their victory with a 25-19 win. Rossi yet again served at a level that stunned the Tigers, with four consecutive aces.
Geneseo’s final match came against the Lasell Lasers, a team that stood no chance against the dominant Knights. The first set went Geneseo’s way with a score of 25-21, which was far closer than the second set. Lasell crumbled in the second set to amazing play by freshman setter Carolyn Mack and junior outside hitter Madison Popielski with a score of 25-12. The Lasers showed some life in the third set, but not enough to stop sophomore Allie Driesen who tallied up an insane number of assists. Geneseo swept Lasell as the third set wound up 25-23 in favor of the Knights.
Following the RIT Invitational, Geneseo returned home to defeat SUNY Oneonta 3-0, but fell shy of victory against New Paltz the very next day. The Knights hope to continue a good season, as their win percentage dances around .500 with plenty of matches to go. With four consecutive road matches to end the regular season, Geneseo will have to work hard to maintain the level they played at during the invitational.