ALBANY, N.Y. – On the first day of the Crosstown Challenge, hosted by Russell Sage College and Union College, the Gators dropped a pair of matches.

RSC fell to Nichols and Skidmore by 3-0 scores.

Junior outside hitter Macey Salvione (Johnstown, NY/Gloversville) topped the Gators with 14 kills and 28 digs across the six sets.

Nichols (9-0) held RSC to .009 team hitting to remain unbeaten.  Sophomore setter Kya Burdier paced the Bison with five kills on .308 hitting, 13 assists, and 12 digs.

Skidmore (5-5) received five or more kills from three different players.  Two of those Thoroughbreds: freshman outside hitter Madison Manning and senior outside hitter Jo Branco, tallied double-digit digs in the win.

RSC (5-5) wraps up the Tournament by hosting Castleton and SUNY Oneonta tomorrow. The tri-match is slated to begin at 10:00 am.  

Notes: The fall marks the debut of Rosilyn Cummings at the helm of the Gators…She took over for Sandy Austein-Collins ’87, who retired in March after 26 seasons of collegiate coaching, 13 of which came at RSC…Defensive specialist Elaina Moisidis (Albany, NY/Albany), a grad student, surpassed 1,500 career digs on Sept. 9 at the SUNY New Paltz Invitational...She started the weekend fifth in school annals with 1,532 career digs…The reigning Empire 8 Conference Libero/Defensive Player of the Year topped the conference in both digs and digs per-set in each of the past two seasons.  

SAGE GIVES: Gator Days of Giving: Sept. 24-26, 2023: The eighth annual fundraising event, SAGE GIVES, happening on September 26, which helps more than 300 student-athletes from all 21 RSC athletic programs, increased to three days for Athletics: Sunday, September 24-Tuesday, September 26. For more information, and to support the fundraiser visit: http://www.sagegators.com/x/ tq6cj