PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher University women's volleyball team hosted the Empire 8 Conference Championship semi-final on Friday. They played in the early time-slot against Houghton University and the team walked away with a 3-0 victory, and have their sights set on the 2022 E8 Championship.
 
In the first set, the Cardinals pulled ahead 7-1, thanks to service aces by Lindsey DeBonis and Kiera Hartpence. The Highlanders made a run to cut their deficit to 9-7, but Fisher took advantage of mistakes to keep their lead and it was topped off with an Emily Brochey ace to earn the set one victory. The second set was very competitive, with neither team going up by more than two points until the score was 18-17. A kill by DeBonis put the team in front 20-17, and a Kiana Walker kill wrapped up the set at 25-22 to put the team ahead 2-0.
 
The Cardinals took a hold on the third frame thanks to kills by Sydney French and a Brochey service ace, putting the team up 7-3. As the set moved forward, Walker and Delayne Young recorded kills to push the advantage to 17-11. Back-to-back errors by the Highlanders gave Fisher a 23-13 lead and then DeBonis and Katie Leaty had kills to punch their ticket to the conference finals.
 
French and Walker each recorded ten kills and hitting .500 and .318 respectively. Hartpence tallied 14 digs, three assists and two service aces as the libero. Leaty was impressive as the setter, collecting 33 assists to just one error. As a team, the Cardinals had 12 service aces, 14 blocks and hit .278.
 
Fisher will take on Hartwick College on Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium. The Hawks defeated Utica University in straight sets on Friday to advance to the finals. Earlier in the season, the Cardinals defeated Hartwick 3-0 (25-11, 26-24, 25-13).
 
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