MARCY, N.Y. – The SUNYIT Women's Volleyball Team (25-4, 9-1 NEAC) honored their six seniors on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats hosted Oswego State for their final home match of the year.
In the two teams' only prior matchup, the Wildcats got the best of the Lakers 3-0 in a September 14th match at Oswego. On Wednesday night, it was the Lakers who came out on top, winning in straight sets 3-0.
It was a close match throughout, with neither team hitting the ball particularly well (the Lakers out hit SUNYIT .196 to .107 as a team). The difference in the match was the visitors' blocking – the Lakers registered 14 blocks to SUNYIT's 8, as the big Oswego frontline gave the Wildcats problems at times.
Leading the Lakers in kills was Sabrina Sutton, who registered 9 on 26 attempts while adding 12 digs.
For the Wildcats, first-year Shelby Kostal (Greenport, N.Y. / Greenport) did admirably filling in for a starter out with an illness, leading the team with 10 kills.
Of course, the night was focused on the Wildcats' 6 seniors: Tessa Gaglianese (Canastota, N.Y. / Canastota), Hanne Saarinen (Lempaala, Finland / Tampereen Lyseon Lukio), Holly Loveless (Brewerton, N.Y. / Paul V. Moore), Jessica Sass (Kingston, N.Y. / Kingston), and team co-captains Taviot Jackowski (LaFayette, N.Y. / LaFayette) and Kaitlyn Harrington (Central Square, N.Y. / Paul V. Moore).
Gaglianese and Loveless are two-year players for the Wildcats, while Saarinen, Sass, Jackowski, and Harrington have been the core of the SUNYIT team throughout the last three successful seasons.
In particular, Harrington is on pace to finish as one of the all-time leaders in kills and digs at SUNYIT, and will undoubtedly finish her career as a 4-time All-NEAC player. Her co-captain Jackowski is similarly having a career year, as she leads the conference in assists-per-set.
The Wildcats will head to New Jersey City College next for a 3-match tilt to close out the regular season. First match is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26th.
