Alfred box | Fisher box | Updated stats | Crossover site
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Golden Flyers defeated visiting Alfred and St. John Fisher in Saturday's Empire 8 Crossover, hosted by Nazareth. The Golden Flyers defeated both teams in three sets. The scores against Alfred were 25-21, 25-19, 25-14. Against Fisher, the scores were 25-19, 25-18, 25-18.

With the victories, the Golden Flyers improve to 24-6 overall and 6-1 in the Empire 8 Conference. With the loss, Alfred falls to 3-24 overall and 0-7 in conference matches. Fisher falls to 13-16 overall and 3-4 in Empire 8 matches. Nazareth secures the second seed for the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament, November 9th-10th, at Stevens. The Golden Flyers will play third-seeded Elmira, who Nazareth beat in four sets on Friday evening. Stevens will host fourth-seeded Ithaca in the other semifinal.

Nazareth used a balanced attack to defeat the Saxons and the Cardinals in Saturday's matches. Against Alfred, nine players finished with at least one kill. Junior Maria Allocco and sophomore Melissa Kline each had seven kills to lead Nazareth. In addition to the kills from Allocco and Kline, junior Kassandra Buseck and freshman Cady Messmer each had six kills. Senior Christy Burczak also added five kills. Freshman Maureen Thayer tallied a match-high 15 assists between the second and third sets. In the first set, freshman Madi Wickens amassed 10 assists. The Golden Flyers finished the match with 40 kills and only 11 hitting errors for a .333 attack percentage. With 13 kills and two errors, Nazareth recorded a match-high percentage of .393 in the second set.

The Golden Flyers overcame an initial 5-0 deficit in the opening set and took the lead at 10-9. Nazareth maintained the lead for the remainder of the set. Allocco had four kills on five attempts with no errors while classmate Olivia Harrigan was also proficient on her attacks with three kills and no errors on six attempts. Messmer added two service aces in the set and finished the match with three. Thayer also had three service aces in the match.

In the second set, Nazareth opened a 9-4 lead on the Saxons. Alfred closed to within two points, 12-10, but was unable to close the gap further. Buseck finished the set with four kills and one error on nine attempts. Burczak, Allocco, Messmer, and freshman Sarah McMahon each had two kills and no errors. The Golden Flyers' defense allowed only eight kills and forced nine hitting errors. Allocco had two solo blocks during the second stanza. Buseck had two assisted blocks.

In the third set, Kline and Messmer each had four kills. The Golden Flyers started the set with a 3-0 lead and stretched their advantage to 7-1. Nazareth led by 10 points three times toward the end of the match before sealing the victory on a kill by Kline. The Golden Flyers' defense was stellar again in the third set as Nazareth allowed Alfred only five kills and forced the Saxons into six hitting errors.

Against St. John Fisher, Buseck and Allocco each had nine kills while Hicks and Harrigan recorded eight kills apiece. Wickens recorded 29 assists as Nazareth's primary setter. The Golden Flyers finished the match with 39 total kills and 15 hitting errors.

In the first set, Nazareth rallied from a 14-12 deficit to a 20-14 advantage with an 8-0 scoring run. Buseck started the run with an assisted block and solo block and a kill. Hicks and Harrigan also added kills before Buseck capped the run with another kill. Buseck finished with four kills in the set.

In the second set, the Golden Flyers surged to a 9-2 advantage following two service aces apiece from Beecher and Thayer. Hicks, Allocco, and Buseck also converted one kill apiece during the run. Nazareth extended its lead to 12 points, 17-5, following three consecutive errors by the Cardinals. Allocco recorded five kills and only one hitting error in the set. Hicks had three kills and zero hitting errors during the second set.

The Golden Flyers dominated Fisher to open the third set. Nazareth scored 13 of the first 14 points. Wickens and Beecher each had a service ace. Even when the Golden Flyers' serves did not result in aces, they caused the Cardinals difficulty. Nazareth was ready at the net to convert unassisted kills when Fisher managed to return the serve. After extending the lead to 17-4, the Cardinals scored seven straight points to pull themselves back into the match. Fisher's run was highlighted by three consecutive aces by Erin Crandall. A kill by Harrigan ended the scoring run, and Nazareth settled for the seven-point victory.

The Golden Flyers are in action again on October 30th when they travel to Geneseo for a non-conference match against the Knights.