PITTSFORD, N.Y. – In the annual "Battle of the Beaks" the St. John Fisher College women's volleyball team traveled across town to Nazareth College and won in a straight sets sweep (25-11, 25-21, 25-22) over the Golden Flyers. It was Fisher's first win versus Nazareth since 2005. The Cardinals' ninth-straight victory puts them at 12-5 overall and at the top of the Empire 8 conference standings with a 3-0 league record.
Sophomore
Alea Steigerwald shined with a game-high 15 kills and 11 digs. Freshman
Lauren Gilbert added 11 kills while junior
Rebecca Hay paced the Cardinals with 28 assists and a season-high four service aces.
Fisher got off to a slow start down 5-1 but quickly shifted momentum with five-point burst to take the lead. After Nazareth took the advantage, a 7-1 run by the Cardinals put them up by five. Fisher finished out the set by winning seven straight points. Hay set up by freshman
Lindsey DeBonis for the set point.
The Cardinals kept up their strong play into the second set by taking an early 8-3 edge. The Golden Flyers worked their way back and took a 18-13 lead later in the frame. Fisher fought back though to tie it and eventually take a 23-20 advantage. Back-to-back Gilbert kills proved to be the deciding points as the Cardinals took a commanding two sets to none lead.
The third and final set was a tight one the whole way. A 5-1 burst by Fisher put them in driver's seat with a lead of 22-18. At 23-21, senior
Emily Risch smacked one past the Golden Flyers to give the Cardinals a chance to close it out. Nazareth fought off one match point, but then sent a serve long to hand Fisher the victory.
In the second set, the Cardinals put up an impressive .407 hitting percentage. Over the entire match, Fisher had a .301 hitting percentage, its third highest in a game this season.
The Cardinals have a busy weekend on the road coming up. On Friday at 6 p.m., Fisher travels down The Thruway to face Medaille College in Buffalo. Then on Saturday, the Cardinals head east to Union College for a pair of matches. They will take on Union at 2 p.m. and then Mount Saint Mary at 4 p.m.
