KEUKA PARK, N.Y. — Playing their first home conference tournament game since 2010, the crowd brought the energy, and the Wolves delivered as the Keuka College Women's Volleyball team defeated Utica University 3-1 on Tuesday in the first round of the Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Championship.

Keuka College advances to the semi-finals of the tournament. The Wolves will next play at Hartwick College on Thursday, November 9.

Keuka College (19-6, 6-2 Empire 8), the three seed in the tournament, leaned on their seniors as Dayna Edholm and Camey Knapp each were in double digits with 25 and 12 kills respectively. Casey Hunziker had 46 assists and three aces for the Wolves. The defense was led by Emma Sipos with 25 digs and Kendra Waltz finished with 17.

#3 Keuka College 3 vs. #6 Utica University 1 – 25-22, 25-23, 25-27, 25-14
It was a tight open for both teams as they felt out the pace and energy of the game. Keuka College pushed ahead with five straight to take a 13-9 lead. The Pioneers answered right back with a run to tie the set at 13-13, but Keuka had the quick answer with six of the next seven points to regain control. The Wolves ended the first at 25-22 on a kill by Dayna Edholm.

Utica took an early lead in the second set, but the Wolves cut into it and took a 10-8 lead. The advantage would bounce between the two teams multiple times in the set. A kill by Edholm tied the set at 22-22. Two plays later, Edholm had a solo block to give the Wolves set point at 25-22. After a point for Utica, Megan McCann put the ball to the floor as the Wolves won the second 25-23 and took a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set was extremely tight as it was tied 14 times after the opening serve. It would go down to the very end. Utica got the first set point at 24-23, but a kill by Sydney Haust extended the set. The Pioneers got another set point, but the set was extended again as Utica's serve went into the net. The third time was the charm for Utica as they took the final two points to win the third 27-25 and extend the match.

Despite Utica winning the third set, Keuka quickly took the momentum and control of the fourth. The Wolves jumped out to a 6-1 lead over Utica and extended it to 10-2 following three straight aces by Casey Hunziker. Keuka pushed their lead out to double digits. Utica pushed points against Keuka, but the Green and Gold closed it out. Keuka scored the final four points of the set to win the fourth 25-14 and the match 3-1.

KC Notes:

• Keuka College improves to 18-6 all-time against Utica University
• It was Keuka College Women's Volleyball's first Empire 8 postseason win in program history and first postseason win overall since the 2015 season
• The Wolves are now a perfect 11-0 on their home floor, a program record
• With her 25 kills, Dayna Edholm moves to fifth on the single-season kills list at Keuka College. It was also the sixth-most kills in a four-set match in program history
• Casey Hunziker is up to fourth on the single-season assists list. As a team, Keuka College has over 1,000 assists this season, the fifth-most in program history
• Emma Sipos surpassed 400 digs for this season, setting a new personal best

Up Next for Keuka College: The conference semi-finals will remain at the higher seed, so #3 Keuka College will travel to Oneonta, N.Y. to face #2 Hartwick College on Thursday night. The Wolves played at Hartwick earlier this season. Hartwick took a 2-0 lead in the match, but Keuka College rallied to force a fifth set. Hartwick closed it out in the end. The two teams finished in a tie for second in the Empire 8, but Hartwick claimed the two seed due to the head-to-head matchup.