CU Volleyball Preivew - (Liberty League First Round) vs. RIT (11/7)

Women's Volleyball | 11/6/2023 3:19:00 PM

The 12th Liberty League Volleyball Tournament opens Tuesday as the Clarkson University Volleyball program seeks another conference title with its initial challenge coming in the way of the sixth-seeded RIT Tigers.

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The Series: The Golden Knights and RIT played once this season with the result seeing Clarkson earn a three-set sweep in Rochester back in early October (25-21, 25-13, 25-15). The Golden Knights held RIT to a .040 hitting percentage and below .100 in each of the three sets while producing 11 aces during the match.

Key Stats for #3 Clarkson (13-11, 6-2 Liberty League): This is the first time that the Golden Knights have played an opening round game in the tournament's current six-team format, but the Knights have still reached the conference finals as the three-seed or lower in past years. Clarkson will be looking to continue its streak of reaching the Liberty League Championship game, having participated in the finals the previous 12 years (8-3). The Golden Knights are led by a senior class that finds contributions all over the court. Sara Galante averages 3.22 kills, 3.16 digs, and 0.48 aces per set, Isabelle Crow and Anna Mayer combine for over 10 assists per set, and Julia Bennett is among the conference leaders in blocks at 0.84 per set.

Key Stats for #6 RIT (11-21, 3-5 Liberty League): In the first meeting against the Knights, only Cat Vento excelled on offense, hitting 6-1-11 with three block assists. The rest of RIT's hitters struggled, usually hitting even or just above that threshold. Macie Jolliffe leads the team with 2.35 kills per set, but is hitting just .092. The top two hitters in terms of percentage come from the middle, with Grace Phelan (.271) and Cat Vento (.269) delivering solid rates. The duo also averages 0.70 and 0.84 blocks per set, respectively. RIT has a solid serve game with 247 aces, but they have also committed 224 errors, while opponents are plus-99 in those categories (319-220), so the match very well could be decided from the service line.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Julia Bennett: MH; 6' 0"; Junior

#11 Isabelle Crow: S; 5' 8"; Senior

#13 Sara Galante: OH; 5' 10"; Junior

#3 Anna Mayer: S; 5' 6"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#5 Julia Bennett
: 6' 0"; Junior
: MH

#11 Isabelle Crow
: 5' 8"; Senior
: S

#13 Sara Galante
: 5' 10"; Junior
: OH

#3 Anna Mayer
: 5' 6"; Senior
: S