BOX SCORE

Rachael Kline had 21 kills as the St. John Fisher College volleyball team won a thriller in five sets against Alfred University in what was the Empire 8 conference-opener for both teams.

With the win, the Cardinals improve to 4-5 (1-0, E8), while Alfred drops to 2-6 (0-1, E8).

Tied at two sets apiece, the contest would be decided by a fifth and final set. Both teams battled back-and-forth, but neither could gain a clear advantage until Fisher pulled away at the very end to take the set and the match, 17-15.

Kline was a force to be reckoned with in the final set as the senior smashed five kills without recording a single attack error in the fifth set. She finsiehd the match with 21 kills amd just two errors on 40 attempts.

The Saxons took the opening set 25-18, but Fisher recovered nicely, taking the second 25-16 and holding on to win the third set 28-26.
Alfred kept its hopes alive, taking the fourth set, 25-21..

Fisher received strong contributions from several players. Megan Miller tallied 23 digs and 13 kills, while Andrea Gillespie did her part to keep the Saxon hitters at bay with 34 digs. Paige Willson came up with seven kills and Erica Stickler notched 23 assists in the win.

The Cardinals will look to build on the win at the Rochester Institute of Technology Invitational beginning Friday. Fisher will take on the University of Rochester at 3 p.m. followed by SUNY Fredonia at 7 p.m.