ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Women's Volleyball fell 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-15) at top-seeded Nazareth in tonight's Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament Quarterfinal.
Senior Macey Salvione (Johnstown, NY/Gloversville) topped the Gators (14-14), the eight seed, with 13 kills. The outside hitter, who closed the regular season ranked in the top-50 nationally in kills, aces, points, aces per-set, and points per-set, tallied 11 double-doubles and 18 double-digit kill performances this autumn.
Junior outside hitter Ashleigh Gerkman (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane) added nine kills on .467 hitting, while setter Emma Rainville (Castleton, NY/Columbia/Binghamton), a grad student, distributed 18 assists.
Senior libero Katelyn Atchinson (Alplaus, NY/Niskayuna/Saint Rose) contributed 13 digs and three aces in the RSC E8 postseason debut.
Nazareth (16-13) hit .341 as a team and received six or more kills from four different players tonight.
Senior setter Tessa Grover paced the victors with 10 kills on .364 hitting and 15 assists.
The Golden Flyers advance to the semis and will face either Houghton, the four seed, or fifth-seeded Alfred on Thursday.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: RSC swept visiting SUNY Geneseo on November 2 to punch its first-ever trip to the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament…The Gators, which had a double-digit victory total for the first time since 2016 this fall, headed into the postseason leading the E8 with 252 aces and 2.77 aces per-set, good for 31st and 36th respectively in NCAA Division III…A dozen players returned to the court in 2024…Salvione, middle hitter Monalissa Carius (Hudson, NY/Hudson), a grad student, and junior middle hitter Aniyah Kelley (Newcastle, DE/William Penn) headlined the group…Head Coach Rosilyn Cummings added four newcomers including transfers Atchinson and Rainville to the squad…Cummings was inducted into the SUNY Plattsburgh Athletic Hall of Fame on September 27…Salvione was announced as the E8 Player of the Week for the periods ending Sunday, September 15 and Sunday, September 29…She capped her regular season leading the Conference with 420.0 points, 77 aces, and 0.85 aces per-set…The stats all put the outside hitter in the top-25 nationally in all of those categories, including fourth in the country with 77 aces and 0.85 aces per-set…She tallied double-digit kills 17 times and achieved 11 double-doubles during the regular season.
