ITHACA, N.Y.—For the second straight season, the second-seeded William Smith volleyball team defeated third-seeded Clarkson in the Liberty League semifinal round in a thrilling five-set match. With the win, the Herons move to 22-5 on the season and advance to tomorrow's Liberty League Championship match for the second time in program history. The Golden Knights conclude their season with a 13-15 overall record.
William Smith put on an impressive performance in the thrilling five-set match and led Clarkson in several statistical categories. The Herons combined for 63 kills, hitting a collective .180 hitting percentage while holding the Golden Knights to 50 kills and a .132 hitting percentage. William Smith combined for 13 service aces compared to Clarkson's 10 and held a 94-79 edge in digs over the Golden Knights. Clarkson held a slight advantage in blocks with 10 compared to the Herons seven.
Junior Malya Sayre had a dominant performance and recorded a career-high 25 kills, hitting .250 through five sets. She added a season-high five service aces and 16 digs for her 16th double-double of the season. Classmate Jaylynn McCarthy added 13 kills out of the middle (.345). She added two digs, two solo blocks and two service aces for William Smith. First-year libero Kali Vanderhoof led the Heron defense with a career-high 28 digs in the win.
Marin Hangliter led the Golden Knights with 17 kills (.333), four digs and one block in the loss. Ashley Currier tallied a team-high 39 assists for Clarkson.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- The back-and-forth battle started early with the first set, William Smith and Clarkson tied 10 times with seven lead changes. The Herons found two kills from four players but back-to-back kills by Clarkson's Grace Hanson gave the Golden Knights a 25-22 win to grab the early lead.
- William Smith responded well in the second set combining for 17 kills (.262) as a team while holding Clarkson to only 10 (.125). Sayre led the Herons with six kills (.263) and a service ace to help William Smith to a 25-18 win in set two.
- The battle continued in the third as the Herons combined for 13 kills (.044) compared to the Golden Knights' seven (.073). Clarkson kept its errors to a minimum and found crucial points from its block to regain the lead with a 25-20 win in set three.
- William Smith came out firing in the must-win fourth set, putting down a match-high 17 kills (.325) as a team. Clarkson combined for 12 kills (.216) but was matched by a dominant showing from Sayre who fired off six kills (.231) and three service aces to force a fifth set with a convincing 25-17 win.
- The decisive fifth set saw nine ties and five lead changes between the Herons and the Golden Knights. William Smith put down eight kills (.208) as a team and forced Clarkson out of system and into hitting errors on several occasions. A kill by Sayre and a Golden Knight hitting error led to a tight 15-13 win for the Herons to send them to the championship match.
MATCH STATS:
- Sayre led the Herons with a career-high 25 kills (.250), while McCarthy chipped in 13 (.345) in the win. Junior Marin Montagne added eight kills for William Smith, while first-year Arielle Newsome tallied five kills (.158) out of the middle.
- First-year setter Delainy Williams put on a stellar performance for the Herons and tallied a match-high 52 assists and 10 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. She added three kills (.429) and two service aces in the win.
- William Smith combined for 94 digs as a team and had four players record double-digit digs. Vanderhoof led the team with a career-high 28, while Montagne chipped in 19. Sayre added 16 digs while Williams chipped in 10. Junior defensive specialist Cydney Fernandez recorded nine digs in the win.
- The Herons combined for 13 service aces as a team and were led by Sayre with five. Fernandez, Vanderhoof, McCarthy and Williams chipped in two each through five sets.
- William Smith tallied seven blocks collectively and were led by McCarthy and junior Hope Von Dohlen with two each. Sayre, Montagne and Newsome chipped in one solo block each in the win.
COACHES CORNER:
"What an unbelievable win for our team tonight!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "We had our backs against the wall; and as we have all year, we found a way to win and are moving on to the championship. Malya and Jay rose to the occasion big time and were unstoppable down the stretch. I am so proud of the grit of this team and the way they battled to find a way to win! Really excited for them to have the opportunity to compete for a Liberty League title tomorrow!"
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action tomorrow in the Liberty League Championship match against top-seeded Ithaca. Action is set to start at 2 p.m. in Ben Light Gymnasium.