GENEVA, N.Y.—The third-seeded William Smith volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 sweep of sixth-seeded Clarkson this evening in a Liberty League first round matchup in Bristol Gymnasium. With the win, the Herons improve to 22-6 on the season and advance to the Liberty League semifinals against second-seeded Union on Friday. The Golden Knights concluded their season with a 13-14 overall record.
William Smith put on a dominant performance against Clarkson. The Herons put down 45 kills (.425), while the Golden Knights recorded 23 kills (.032). William Smith held a 44-21 edge in assists and a 41-29 advantage in digs. The Herons tallied nine blocks compared to Clarkson's three. The Golden Knights held a 6-5 edge in service aces in the conference showdown.
Three Herons recorded double-digit kills in the sweep. Senior outside Malya Sayre led William Smith with her team-leading ninth double-double of the season, tallying 12 kills (.259) and 12 digs. She added four blocks, three service aces and an assist in the win. Sophomore Emily Fulton chipped in 11 kills (.476), nine digs and a block, while senior Hope Von Dohlen added 10 kills (.692), three blocks and a dig.
Sophomore Arielle Newsome recorded seven kills (.500) in the win, while senior Jaylynn McCarthy chipped in four kills (.333) out of the middle. The duo combined for eight blocks, and a dig in the sweep. Sophomore libero Kali Vanderhoof led the Heron defense with nine digs, three assists and two service aces in the win.
Conley Burns led the Golden Knights with nine kills (.185), three digs and a solo block, while Marin Hangliter added six kills, six digs and four service aces in the loss. Ashley Currier tallied a team-leading 14 assists for Clarkson.
MATCH MOMENTS:
- William Smith came out hot in the opening set, putting down 10 kills (.286) as a team compared to Clarkson's six kills (-.071). Strong service runs by Sayre and Vanderhoof led the Herons to a dominant 25-13 win in set one.
- The Golden Knights answered in the second set and put down 10 kills (.107) but were matched by a hot Heron side that put down 15 kills (.400). Despite trading the early points, William Smith went on a late run to grab the momentum and close out the second set on top, 25-22.
- The Herons put on a dominant performance in the third set, putting down 20 kills (.528) on just one error, while Clarkson tallied just seven kills (.054). Von Dohlen put down seven kills, while Sayre added six in the final set to close out the sweep with a 25-11 win.
MATCH STATS:
- Sayre paced the Herons with 12 kills (.259), while Fulton added 11 (.476). Von Dohlen chipped in 10 kills (.692), while Newsome added seven (.500) and McCarthy added four kills (.333) out of the middle.
- Sophomore setter Delainy Williams tallied a match-high 40 assists in the sweep. She added five digs, one block and one kill (.333) in the win.
- The Herons combined for 41 digs as a team and were led by Sayre with 12. Vanderhoof and Fulton added nine digs each, while Williams chipped in five. Senior Marin Montagne added three digs in the win.
- William Smith continued to impress at the net and combined for nine blocks as a team. Newsome led the way with six blocks, while Sayre chipped in four. Von Dohlen tallied three blocks through three sets.
- The Green and White looked strong from the service line and tallied five aces in the sweep. Sayre led the team with three aces, while Vanderhoof added two aces for the Herons.
COACHES CORNER:
"We were excellent tonight!" said Head Coach Derryk Williams. "We played with consistency and passion, and we were hard to contain. I am really proud of the way we are playing and working together as a group heading into the semifinals. It is going to be an awesome weekend of volleyball, and I am excited for us to compete with Union on Friday."
CLASS OF 2026:
Tonight's match was the final home match in Bristol Gymnasium for the Heron volleyball class of 2026. The inaugural class of the William Smith volleyball program closed out their final season with a perfect 11-0 home record. Marin Montagne, Jaylynn McCarthy, Malya Sayre, Cydney Fernandez and Hope Von Dohlen have combined for an impressive 32-6 overall record in Bristol Gymnasium over the past four seasons.
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action Friday, Nov. 14, when it travels to Ithaca, New York, for the Liberty League semifinals against second-seeded Union. Action between the Herons and the Garnet Chargers is set for 6:30 p.m. in Ben Light Gymnasium.