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Scoreboard

Clarkson University Athletics

ReuschRachelBlock2017
1
Vassar College VCWVB 22-7, 5-2 LL
3
Winner Clarkson University CU-VB 20-7, 6-1 LL
Vassar College VCWVB
22-7, 5-2 LL
1
Final
3
Clarkson University CU-VB
20-7, 6-1 LL
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Vassar College VCWVB 11 28 23 20 (1)
Clarkson University CU-VB 25 26 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | November 3, 2017

Clarkson Downs Vassar in Four to Advance to Liberty League Finals for 7th Straight Year

Ithaca, NY – For the seventh straight year, the Clarkson University Volleyball team finds itself in the Liberty League Championship game as the Golden Knights dispatched Vassar College in four sets, 25-11, 26-28, 25-23, 25-20 in the conference tournament's semifinals Friday evening at Ithaca College.

The Golden Knights improved to 20-7 on the season, their 11th consecutive season with at least 20 victories even with a shortened regular-season schedule. Vassar (22-7), the top team in the regional rankings despite now three losses against conference foes, will have to hope that the Liberty League's strength and their record against regionally-ranked opponents is enough to receive an at-large bid from the NCAA selection committee.

Clarkson utilized a consistent offense and excellent production from the service line to take the match. The Knights served 12 aces in four sets with just five service errors, in stark contrast to Vassar's seven aces (four of which came in the fourth set) and 11 service errors. The difference in points gained from the service line was 23-12 in Clarkson's favor, almost entire set's worth of points.

In the opener, Vassar gained the first point, but after that it was all Clarkson. The Knights recorded seven straight after the opener and watched a 13-6 lead bulge to 19-6 thanks to a great run from Jillian Saenz on the service line, including three aces. Vassar cut it to 19-9, but Clarkson scored six of the final eight points, with the final one coming on a Kendall Cheval kill, to claim an easy win.

None of the next three sets would see Clarkson on cruise control, however, as Vassar found enough offense to make up for its troubles from the service line. In set number two, the Brewers picked up two five-point leads and led 18-13 late. A 4-0 run from Clarkson which was capped off by a Rachel Reusch kill, tied things at 19-19 and the momentum appeared to be in the Knights' direction. Maddie Bredehoeft recorded a kill to put the Knights up 23-21, and a kill three points later by Rachael Aird gave Clarkson a set point at 24-23. The Knights were unable to find the final point, however, committing four errors down the stretch to give Vassar a 28-26 win.

The third set was a back and forth affair with runs in the middle that saw both teams look tough to beat. Clarkson pushed its advantage to 14-10 with some solid offense, forcing Vassar to call a timeout. Out of the break, the Brewers scored seven straight with help from Devan Gallagher, who recorded four kills in that stretch. Clarkson rallied to tie the score at 20-20, the first of four ties late, and the two teams were still knotted up at 23-23. Kills from Gillian Kurtic and Rachel Reusch ended the set at 25-23, giving the Knights a 2-1 advantage.

Set number four mirrored the third, as Clarkson gained an early advantage at 12-9 with an emphatic kill from Maddie Bredehoeft. Vassar rolled off four straight points to retake the lead, and the two teams jostled back and forth again with five straight ties (19-19). Once Clarkson picked up its 20th point in the set on a Rachael Aird kill, however, the Knights would not relinquish their advantage again. A ball-handling error and another kill from Bredehoeft gave Clarkson a 22-19 lead. Vassar picked up a kill to pull within two, but block assists from Kurtic and Bredehoeft, an ace from Aashlyn Sulaica and an attack error by Vassar ended the set and the match in favor of Clarkson.

Rachael Aird scored 14 kills with just three errors in 21 swings (.524 hitting percentage) while Rachel Reusch (8 kills), Maddie Bredehoeft (7 kills), Gillian Kurtic (6 kills) and Kendall Cheval (6 kills) each added solid contributions. Bredehoeft also had five block assists, while Reusch had four blocks, including three solo efforts. Jillian Saenz ran the offense with 37 assists, but it was her six aces that did the most damage for Clarkson. Kate Isaksen was her usual steady self in the back row, recording 31 digs without a reception error on serve receive.

For Vassar, Devan Gallagher produced 14 digs and 20 kills, but committed nine errors on 57 swings, while Lauren Ninkavich had 15 kills and 11 digs. Annie MacMillan had 43 assists and Anna Zucchero tacked on 28 digs.




 
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