Herons tripped up by #23 Ithaca

The William Smith College volleyball team dropped a conference matchup 3-0 at nationally-ranked Ithaca College this evening. The Herons fall to 10-8 overall and 3-2 in the conference, while the Bombers move to 17-4 overall with a 5-0 mark in the Liberty League.

Leading the way for William Smith was sophomore Malya Sayre with nine kills, hitting .075 through three sets. First-year Maren Hunt chipped in a season-high six kills, hitting an impressive .625 on the night. Hunt and Sayre added one block each in the loss.

MATCH MOMENTS:

• Ithaca came out firing in the opening set, compiling 16 kills as a team compared to the Herons’ four. The Bombers hit .387 as a unit to grab a 25-17 set one win to open the match on top.
• William Smith responded in the second set with nine kills as a team, hitting .061 but were plagued by errors. The Herons tallied seven attack errors and one service error compared to the Bombers five attack errors and zero service errors. Ithaca would take the second set 25-16 to extend its lead to 2-0.
• In the must-win third set, the Herons produced its best offensive showing of the night. William Smith hit .089 as a team, tallying 13 kills against a scrappy Bomber defense. The Herons climbed out of a late deficit to push the set to extra points, ultimately falling 30-28 in the final set. Sayre and Hunt led William Smith with four kills each in the third.

MATCH STATS:

• Sayre led the Herons with nine kills (.075), while Hunt chipped in six (.625). Sophomores Marin Montagne and Jaylynn McCarthy added five kills each in the loss.
• Junior setter Elaina Wamhoff recorded 23 assists, three digs and two service aces through three sets.
• First-year Maysie Malinaric tallied a team-leading 12 digs in the match. McCarthy added 10 while Montagne chipped in six.
• William Smith combined for five blocks on the night and were led by first-year Lindsay Umlauf with two, including one huge solo block. Montagne, Sayre, and Hunt added one block each for the Herons.

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