ROCHESTER, NY – The St. John Fisher University women's volleyball team returned to RIT for two games on Saturday, looking to rebound from Friday night's tough loss at the Brick City Invitational. Fisher took on Clark University and WPI for the first time in program history.
 
FISHER 3, CLARK 0
 
The first set went back and forth, as Fisher held a 13-10 lead halfway through. Two kills from Kiana Walker forced a timeout for Clark. Out of the timeout, Fisher opened the lead to 20-12 following two kills from Sydney French. Olivia Nellis put the first set on ice with two kills to take set one 25-15.
 
After Clark took a 9-8 lead in set two, Fisher responded by going on a 9-2 run to take a 17-11 lead. The offense was the story of set two, which Fisher won 25-19, as the Cardinals hit 0.485, with 17 kills on 33 attempts with only one error. Lindsey Debonis finished with five kills in the second set alone, part of a 12-kill performance for the senior.
 
Debonis would hit 0.500 in the win, with only two errors on 20 attempts. This is the first time Debonis has had a 10+ kill performance since Sept. 17 against the University of Mount Union, when she also had 12 kills.
 
While Clark led the third set 12-9, Fisher would rally to go up 20-17, capped by two kills from French. Fisher would go on to take set three by a final of 25-20, beating Clark 3-0. 
 
Returning from an injured finger sustained in last night's loss, French looked strong, as she hit 0.526 and finished the win over Clark with 11 kills.
 
FISHER 3, WPI 1
 
Looking to build on the win over Clark, Fisher faced a formidable challenge from WPI. Tied 16-16 in the first set, back-to-back kills from Debonis and a kill from Brooke Segars put the Cardinals up 19-16. The kill from Segars was her second this season. WPI would not go away quietly, as an attack error from Nellis cut the lead to one at 22-21. Kiera Hartpence would wrap up the first set with an ace, as Fisher won 25-21.
 
WPI would respond by taking set two 25-18. Fisher was not able to recover to tie the game or take the lead again after starting the game up 2-1.
 
Now tied with 1-set apiece, WPI opened up an 8-3 lead to start the third set. Two kills from both Walker and French cut the deficit to two at 9-7. Tied at thirteen, two crucial attack errors and kills from Katie Leaty and Madalyn Bouton gave Fisher a 17-13 lead in set three. Once again, WPI would storm back to tie the game 22-22. A service error from WPI, a kill from Bouton, and an ace from Leaty finished off set three by a score of 25-22.
 
Bouton, the first-year middle who has seen an increase in playing time recently finished with three kills, the third time she has had three kills in a game, which represents a career high. Bouton also tallied two blocks in the win, also tying a career high. She now has a total of 6.0 blocks this season.
 
The fourth set started with much of the same, as WPI held their own, down just one 11-10. An 8-3 rally from Fisher made the score 19-13, and Fisher was able to secure the win 25-16.
 
French continued to add to her impressive offensive day in the win over WPI, finishing with 12 more kills, hitting 0.455. This marks the sixth time this season the senior has had 10+ kills in a game, and the second on Saturday. Prior to Saturday, the last time French finished with 10+ was Oct. 1 against Hartwick. Prior to this season, French had only achieved the 10+ kill mark once, which came Oct. 22, 2021 against Keuka, when she finished with 11 kills on 13 attempts, an incredible 0.846 hitting percentage.
 
The win was also supported by Debonis, who added 14 more kills, 34 assists and 14 digs from Leaty, and 12 digs from Hartpence and Emily Brochey.
 
With the two wins, Fisher moves to 14-6 on the season. The Cardinals will return to action next Friday and Saturday as they travel to Alfred and Elmira for their final two Empire 8 matchups of the season.
 
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