UTICA, N.Y. – In its first conference game of the 2019 season, the St. John Fisher College women's volleyball team traveled to Utica College Friday evening and came away with a 3-0 sweep (25-4, 25-13, 25-19) over the Pioneers. With the win, the Cardinals are 10-5 overall and 1-0 in the Empire Eight while Utica drops to 2-15 overall and 0-1 in league play.

Freshman Lauren Gilbert led all players with 12 kills and 10 digs. Junior Rebecca Hay added a game-high 37 assists while Freshman Alexis Mancha had a career-high six services aces.

The Cardinals got off to a blistering 6-0 start to begin the first set. A nine-point run on Mancha's serve put Fisher in prime position, up 17-2. An Elly Hepburn kill sealed the deal as the Cardinals won by a whopping 21 points in the opening frame. As a team, the Cardinals had 17 kills with zero errors and an incredible .895 hitting percentage in the first set.

The second set was a closer one than the first with Fisher holding a 12-9 edge. A 7-2 run pushed the advantage up to eight for the visitors. The Cardinals finished off the set with a 5-1 burst that included back-to-back aces from Mancha.

The Pioneers made it interesting in the third and final set with the score in favor of Fisher, 21-19. The Cardinals reeled off four straight points to take the victory with sophomore Katie Leaty earning match point on an ace.

Fisher had its highest hitting percentage of the season with a .389 against Utica. With her 12 kills, Gilbert had zero errors for a career-high .600 hitting percentage. Also achieving a career-high hitting percentage were Freshman Lindsey DeBonis and Sophomore Alea Steigerwald. DeBonis had 10 kills with a .529 percentage while Steigerwald had a modest nine kills with a .571 percentage.

The Cardinals continue conference play tomorrow with a road contest at Sage at 2 p.m.