CANTON, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College women's volleyball team wrapped up day two of the North Country Invite with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-12, 25-14) straight-set sweep of SUNY Canton in the campus' Roos House. With the win, the Cardinals walked out of the North Country with an improved season record of 4-3, while the Kangaroos fell to 0-5.
After falling behind 3-2 in the beginning of the first set, the Cardinals went on a nine-point scoring tear with service aces from
Alea Steigerwald and points from
Lindsey DeBonis,
Delayne Young, and
Kara Balmer lighting the way. Fisher then inched its way to the finish, until the
Sydney French Effect took hold of the service line once more with a service ace paired with Balmer and Steigerwald points to extend the lead to 22-7, before the All-American Steigerwald sent home two kills and a service ace to close the frame.
Fisher then won the first seven points of the second set with Young at the service line. The Cardinals never looked back from there, as their lead grew to as large as 13 points. In the final set, Fisher won the first three points, only to be bettered by the Kangaroos, but the lead did not stick for long as the visitors then hammered home six straight points, including two service aces from
Brooke Segars and points from French and
Gracie Jacob, to bring the Fisher lead to 9-4. The squads then traded up to three-point streaks for the remainder of the frame, but the deficit was never attainable by SUNY Canton, as Fisher took a 11-point victory.
Overall, the Cardinals hit just under 42% and recorded 17 service aces in the match, as Steigerwald led the way with eight kills and four service aces. She was followed closely by middle blockers Balmer and
Olivia Nellis who split 12 kills.
Kelly Taylor commanded the passing game with 14 assists while Young and French each had a team-high five digs.
Fisher will meet with SUNY Canton once more this season in next weekend's opening matchup of the Oswego State Invitational, where the Cardinals will duke it out with the Kangaroos on Friday, September 17 at 4 P.M.
