Women's Volleyball | 11/9/2022 12:20:00 PM

PITTSFORD, NY – The St. John Fisher University women's volleyball team (21-7, 9-0 Empire 8) will look to continue their season as they prepare to take on the University of Scranton in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Cardinals will face a Royals team that went 21-12 this season, making the tournament with an at-large bid.

The game is set to be played at Tufts University, the regional host, and will take place at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 10.

Award Season: After the Cardinals won the Empire 8 tournament for the fourth consecutive season, Sydney French, Kiera Hartpence, and Kiana Walker were named to the All-Tournament Team. French contributed 22 kills in the two Empire 8 Tournament games, 12 of which came in the Championship against Hartwick. The senior was also awarded the Torchbearer Award, recognizing the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating in the finals. Hartpence finished with five assists in the tournament, adding a total of 28 digs across the two wins. For the fourth time this season, Hartpence was also named Empire 8 Rookie of the Week. Finally, Walker was awarded Most Valuable Player of the Tournament after hitting 0.275. In the win over Hartwick, Walker finished with a career-high 16 kills and tallied 19 digs, three aces, and three block assists. 

Scouting Scranton: The matchup against Scranton will mark the first time these two teams have met. The Royals are led by Senior Captain OH Carah Vitkus, who paces the team at 3.39 K/S, points at 422.0, and 3.9 PTS/S. Senior Captain S Caileigh Cox had a strong season as well, finishing with 35 aces compared to 21 service errors, and contributing 1011 assists.

Notable matchups include a 3-1 win over Nazareth College, and wins over RIT, Johns Hopkins, and Elizabethtown. While Fisher bested Nazareth in three sets earlier this season, they dropped games against RIT, Johns Hopkins, and Elizabethtown.
Head Coach Jamie Sprangler is in her 10th season at Scranton, posting a 176-111 (.613) winning percentage.

Player to Watch: Delayne Young returned from injury this weekend, racking up 15 kills across the two contests. Young finished the season leading the Cardinals at 3.37 PTS/S and was tied with Brooke Segars to lead the Cardinals in aces at 44. Young ranked second in K/S at 2.55 and was fourth on the team in points at 226.0.

The Cardinals will look for a big game from Young to push Fisher past Scranton in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

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