CANTON, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College women's volleyball team started off its 2017 season strong with two wins in straight sets over SUNY Poly and Buffalo State as the Cardinals competed in the North Country Invite hosted by St. Lawrence University. With the wins, Fisher moved to 2-0 on the season while SUNY Poly and Buffalo State each fell to 0-1.

The Cardinals started the evening with a 25-15, 25-16, 25-17 straight-set victory over SUNY Poly after putting away 13 aces throughout the match. Junior Elise Kreuz led the way with four aces.  Senior Katie Mazierski and freshman Rebecca Hay each added three.

Fisher put together a great attacking match and tallied 31 kills for an average of 10 kills per game. Mazierski led the way with seven while fellow seniors Anna Marcy and Madison Karwas each finished with six to add to the well-balanced offensive match. Sophomore setter Phoebe Kane started the season off strong with 18 assists. Senior middle blocker Amanda Miller added four blocks.

Megan Will and Makayla Hulett led the way for Poly with five and four kills, respectively. Libero Charlotte Rutnik had an impressive defensive match finishing with fifteen digs.

The Cardinals second match of the evening saw another strong start, pulling out a competitive three set victory over Buffalo State, 27-25, 25-19, 25-22.  Marcy carried over her strong hitting performance from the first game and powered Fisher's attack with 13 of the team's 37 kills. Kruz led the way defensively with 11 digs and Kane dished out 16 assists in the win.

Brooke Latour and Lauren Hansen led the way for the Bengals with six kills apiece. Buffalo State battled hard, however, only came hit at a .025% clip, which ended up being the difference in the match. Setter Alyssa Durski added 16 assists.

The Cardinals will be back in action on Saturday as they take on Cazenovia College at 2 p.m. followed by host St. Lawrence at 4 p.m.