The Women’s volleyball team has won six-straight matches.
Additionally, the Hawks began State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Pool Play at Buffalo from Friday, Sept. 25 to Saturday, Sept. 26, taking all three matches. With the trio of victories, the Hawks have now won 23 consecutive SUNYAC matches dating back to 2012.
On Friday, Sept. 25, the Hawks defeated SUNY Fredonia 3-2 (22-25, 17-25, 25-18, 25-23, 15-11) in a rematch of last year’s SUNYAC Final, in which the Hawks took the victory.
Hawks fourth-year outside hitter Becca Borquist led the Hawks offensively with 23 kills and a .215 (23-9-65) hitting percentage. She added 15 digs to complete a double-double along with three aces. Hawks second-year setter Maddie Zwickl dished out a match-high 46 assists.
Hawks third-year middle hitter Morgan Roessler finished with four total blocks (two solo, two assist) to solidify the defense.
As a team, the Hawks led the Blue Devils in the service aces (8) and blocks categories (12).
Hawks Head Coach Matt Giufre said it feels great to be winning.
“Pool Play was very tough,” he said. “It was very challenging and it was definitely a thrill to win all three matches that we did. Fredonia had us down pretty good, and the resiliency that we showed was that of a veteran team and I was really proud of them for that.”
The next day the Hawks took both matches.
In the first match of the day the Hawks took the victory against SUNY Potsdam 3-1 (25-11, 25-27, 25-18, 25-11)
The Hawks hit at a .285 clip against the Bears and limited Potsdam to .071 hitting and led in blocks (7-0) and service aces (16-9).
Borquist hit for a .308 percentage (16-4-39) while adding 14 digs to complete the double-double and added six service aces. Zwickl also posted a double-double with 50 assists and 13 digs, while Roessler registered 10 kills and four total blocks (three solo, one assist). Other double-digit dig compilers included Hawks third-year liberos Anna Paulik, Rachel Pierson and Meg Kinee with 23, 14 and 13 digs, respectively.
Later in the day, the Hawks beat SUNY Geneseo 3-1 (25-15, 25-18, 24-26, 25-22)
Borquist sat atop the Hawk offense with 21 kills and a .236 (21-8-55) hitting percentage, and she added 23 digs to complete the double-double. Zwickl’s 50 assists and 17 digs were also good for a double-double, while second-year outside hitter Veronica Matedero and Roessler tallied 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Paulik provided a team-best 25 digs.
Borquist was selected as the SUNYAC Volleyball Player of the Week for the period ending Sept. 27. as announced on Monday, Sept. 28 by the conference office.
It marks the sixth career SUNYAC Player of the Week award for Borquist, who is the reigning SUNYAC Player of the Year.
Borquist said everyone on the team has been putting in a lot of hard work in the gym in order to be successful.
“It was really great to see our hard work pay off,” she said. “This week is all about hard work and getting better. Because we have off this weekend we are all trying our best to keep improving.”
With 10 days off between matches, Giufre said the break is a positive thing.
“We can spend some time just working on us, and not about a specific opponent,” he said. “It’s mentally-refreshing, it’s actually more of a refreshing opportunity.”
With a record of 11-6, the Hawks will next host Williams College in a nonconference matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hawk Center.
Roessler said the team needs to keep their focus and work hard to improve whether it is something new or learned from the first week to prepare for upcoming matches.
“We always compete with each other and that definitely makes us better, but we still support each other every step of the way,” she said.
