Albany, NY—The Gators of Sage hosted the Hawks of Hartwick College on Wednesday night in an Empire 8 match, the first of the year for both teams. The match went five sets and by night's end, Hartwick College had the 3-2 win (23-25, 25-13, 25-19, 13-25, 15-7). Hartwick stands at 6-5 overall and 1-0 in the league, while drops to 3-8 overall and 0-1 in the Empire 8. Sage won the first set 25-23 and the fourth set 25-13, but in a final set the Hawks took control early and Sage was unable to catch up.
Junior outside hitter Megan Ryder (Broadalbin, NY/Broadalbin-Perth) and sophomore right side Renee Martin (Troy, NY/Troy) both had eight kills each for the Gators. Ryder added 23 receiving attempts with only four errors and had 20 digs for the night. Martin added three total blocks in the match.
Rookie outside hitter Emma Parkington (Dalton, MA/Wahconah Regional) collected six kills with a .294 attack percentage and five digs and 19 setting assists. Another rookie, defensive specialist Kayla Weaver (Amsterdam, NY/Broadalbin-Perth) led all players with her 23 digs and added three aces. Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Rowell (Morrisonville, NY/Beekmantown) added six kills with four digs, while sophomore setter Brooke Monty (Copake, NY/Taconic Hills) had 14 setting assists with an ace and seven digs.
Hartwick's sophomore outside hitter Maria Sorriento (Troy, NY/Troy) added 20 kills with 23.0 points in leading the Hawks. She also had 15 digs and was a perfect 17-0 on receiving attempts in the match. Rookie Toria Betelak (North Syracuse, NY/Liverpool) connected for 12 kills and a .455 attack percentage. Rookie setter Christina Mattocks (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) added 42 setting assists with 10 digs, while sophomore Katie Boak (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) added five aces with 16 digs. Rookie outside Kiera Walsh (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) picked up 12 digs with four aces for the Hawks as they combined for 13 aces in the match.
The Gators will return to action on Saturday, September 22 for an Empire 8 tri-match at Elmira College with Utica, while Hartwick College visits Houghton for an Empire 8 tri-match with St. John Fisher College, also on Saturday.
