ONEONTA, N.Y. — The Keuka College Women's Volleyball team advances to their first Empire 8 Championship in program history as they won on the road at Hartwick College in five sets in the semi-finals on Thursday.
The Wolves advance to the conference championship game on Saturday, November 11. In the other semi-final, #5 Alfred University defeated #1 St. John Fisher in four sets to advance to face the Wolves. As the highest remaining seed, Keuka College will host the final game.
It was an offensive attack for Keuka College (20-6, 6-2 Empire 8) with four players hitting double-digit kills.
Dayna Edholm led the way with a match-high 19 kills.
Camey Knapp was right behind her with 16 kills in the win.
Casey Hunziker paced the offense with 48 assists.
Emma Sipos led defensively with a season-high 29 digs.
#3 Keuka College 3 at #2 Hartwick College 2 – 21-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 15-6
Hartwick jumped out to an early lead over the Wolves, but Keuka rallied late in the set. The margin dipped to three at 21-18 and later to two at 23-21, but a kill and a block for the Hawks ended the first 25-21.
The Wolves played from the front in the second set. A block by
Bryn Straub and
Dayna Edholm gave Keuka a 15-10 lead. However, the Hawks continued to attack the Wolves and built a 20-18 lead over Keuka following six straight points. The Wolves were able to regain the lead 22-21 following a kill by
Nina Scott. The Green and Gold closed it out with back-to-back kills by
Camey Knapp to end the set 25-22.
Keuka College continued the momentum in the third. An ace by
Kendra Waltz had Keuka doubling up Hartwick 12-6. A kill by Knapp put the Wolves up five, 20-15, but six straight for the Hawks gave them the lead. Again, an ace by Waltz was key as it put Keuka up 22-21, but Hartwick converted four of the next five points to take the third set 25-23 and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Keuka scored the first two points of the set, but Hartwick responded with 10 of the next 11 points. The Hawks held a 12-5 lead, but Keuka College did not let their season end. The Wolves went on a huge run, scoring 20 of the next 25 points. The Green and Gold closed with eight straight points with
Casey Hunziker ending the set at 25-17 with an ace to force a fifth and final set.
The two teams traded points early in the final set, but Keuka used a pair of three-point runs to force the changeover at 8-4. The Wolves got two more points following the flip to take a 10-4 lead. Play progressed but Keuka kept Hartwick at arm's reach. The tenth kill of the night for
Nina Scott gave Keuka match point. The match ended as a Hawk attack was hit long to give the Wolves the fifth set 15-9, winning the match 3-2.
KC Notes:
- Keuka College avenged their five-set loss at Hartwick College earlier this season. The Wolves are now 10-9 all-time against the Hawks and 4-3 in five-set matches
- Saturday will be the first Empire 8 Conference Championship game for any Wolves team since Keuka College joined the conference in the 2020-21 season. Overall, it will be Keuka's seventh conference championship game and first since the 2012 season
- Along with Edholm, Knapp, and Scott, Megan McCann was in double figures with 11 kills
- Dayna Edholm continues to climb the single-season list. She now has 387 kills this season, the third-most in a season in program history
- Tying directly to the attack, Casey Hunziker is up to number two on the single-season assists list at Keuka College. The senior now has 924 on the season. Hunziker also surpassed 2,000 assists for her career, only the fourth Keuka College Women's Volleyball player to reach that plateau
Up Next for Keuka College: The Wolves and Saxons will square off for the Empire 8 Championship and berth into the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament on Saturday. The match will take place on David M. Sweet Court, the time is still to be determined. The Wolves and Saxons met earlier this year at Keuka College. Alfred jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Keuka College, but the Wolves rallied to defeat the Saxons in five sets.
