Women's Volleyball | 11/21/2024 8:00:00 AM

MARIETTA, Ohio – The St. John Fisher University women's volleyball team will look to win an NCAA Tournament match for the first time since 1998 when it faces Marietta College at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Ban Johnson Arena. 

The Cardinals, 21-8 overall, beat rival Nazareth 3-0 last Saturday in the Empire 8 title match to clinch the program's sixth NCAA Tournament berth. Host Marietta (23-1) enters the tournament ranked No. 9 nationally. 

Thursday's match will mark the first meeting between the programs. 

Live Coverage

• All NCAA Tournament games will be streamed live on NCAA.com. 

• Live stats will be available on Marietta College's website. 

• Stay tuned to @SJFAthletics on Twitter and Instagram for live updates from Marietta College. 

Player Spotlight: Gutman Keeps On Hitting 

• Sophomore middle blocker Ana Gutman enters the NCAA Tournament with a .395 hitting percentage, tied for the seventh-highest mark in Division III. 

• Gutman's .395 hitting percentage is the highest by an Empire 8 player since Nazareth's Maria Alloco posted a .420 mark in 2014. Nazareth's Tricia Jones set the conference record in 2014 when she hit .434. 

• Gutman, a 2024 All-Empire 8 first-team selection, has hit .400 or better in more than half of the Cardinals' matches this season (15 of 29 matches). She has hit .300 or better in all but 10 contests.  

• Gutman was named Empire 8 Tournament MVP after slamming 38 kills while hitting .516 over three tournament matches. She hit well above .400 in each match. 

• Gutman also leads Fisher with 57 blocks. She record 10 in the conference tournament. 

Last Time Out

• The Cardinals swept crosstown rival Nazareth last weekend to secure the program's sixth-ever NCAA Tournament bid. 

• The Cardinals improved to 4-0 in Empire 8 championship matches against Nazareth. It was their second sweep of the Golden Flyers in an E8 championship match in the last four years. 

• The contest marked the Cardinals' first E8 title match on the road. They won all four of their previous conference titles on their home floor. 

• The Cardinals avenged their 3-1 regular-season loss to Nazareth. The Golden Flyers were one of two Empire 8 teams to beat Fisher this season (Brockport being the other). 

• The Cardinals have won nine matches in a row since that Oct. 23 loss. 

• Gutman registered a team-high .450 hitting percentage. She had 11 kills. 

• Sophomore outside hitter Kaylene Noble led the Cardinals with 14 kills and hit .346 in the match. 

• Freshman outside hitter Lydia Fraser amassed 12 kills and hit .360. 

• The Cardinals had 42 kills to Nazareth's 27. They hit .299 as a team. 

• Junior setter Reilly Morrow had a match-high 28 assists. 

• Noble had eight digs, while Morrow and junior libero Kiera Hartpence had seven apiece. 

• Junior Isabella Mahar led Fisher with two service aces. 

Fisher Notes To Know

• The Cardinals have won five Empire 8 titles in program history, all in the last six years. 

• Head coach Kelly Greapentrog has led Fisher to five Empire 8 titles and four NCAA Tournament appearances. 

• This season marks the seventh in which the Cardinals have won 20 or more matches under Greapentrog. The Cardinals have reached the 20-win mark in three of the last four seasons. 

• Fraser recently became the ninth player in program history to be named Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. She won Empire 8 Rookie of the Week five times during the regular season. 

• A Fisher player has won Empire 8 Rookie of the Year five times in the last seven seasons. That list includes Noble (2023), Gracie Jacob (2020-21), Lindsay Gilbert (2019), Alea Steigerwald (2018) and Rebecca Hay (2017). '

• Fraser has 317 kills (second on the team, fourth in the E8) and a team-high 46 service aces. 

• Noble leads the Cardinals with 342 kills, a career-best. She has hit over .300 in four of the team's last five matches. 

• Morrow recently passed Elaina Braun for ninth in program history in assists (1,782). 

• Morrow has tallied 40 or more assists in seven matches this season. She's had more than 40 in three of the team's last four contests. 

• Morrow tied her season high with 46 assists in a sweep of SUNY Geneseo to open E8 Tournament play. 

• Hartpence paces the Cardinals with 431 digs, a career-high. She surpassed the 1,000-dig mark earlier this season. 

2024 Player Awards and Honors

Empire 8: Fraser (Rookie of the Year, first-team All-E8), Gutman (first-team All-E8, tournament MVP), Morrow (second-team All-E8), Noble (second-team All-E8, all-tournament team) and Hartpence (third-team All-E8, all-tournament team). 

American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Region: Fraser (first-team All-Region Three), Gutman (first-team All-Region Three) and Noble (honorable mention All-Region Three). 

With A Victory On Thursday, Fisher Would…

• …win an NCAA Tournament match for the first time since 1998.

• …advance to face Franklin & Marshall or Illinois Wesleyan in the second round. 

About Marietta

• Marietta is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. 

• The Pioneers lost for the first time this season last weekend, falling 3-1 to Otterbein in the Ohio Athletic Conference championship.

• Graduate student Maggie Fellers leads the Pioneers in hitting percentage (.293). Her sister, Jillian, leads the team in kills (291). 

• Maggie Fellers also leads Marietta in blocks with 80. 

• Junior setter Emory Spitler has nearly 950 assists this season.