(photo by Travis Bernhard)
The Fredonia State women's volleyball team split a pair of matches Saturday at the RIT Tri-Match, defeating Bard in four sets before dropping a five-set thriller to host RIT.
Donnilynn Sheldon led the Blue Devils on the day with 17 kills, eight aces and 10 total blocks. Kylie O'Brien added 22 kills across the two matches, while Olivia Boswell directed the offense with 41 assists, 21 digs and six aces. Maeve Musielak contributed 19 kills, 23 digs and six aces.
Fredonia State 3, Bard 1 (25-18, 14-25, 25-20, 25-21)
The Blue Devils opened the day with a four-set victory over Bard, using a strong serving performance and balanced attack to secure the win. Musielak and O'Brien paced the offense with 11 kills each, while Boswell recorded 16 assists, 10 digs, and five service aces. Sheldon contributed six total blocks, four kills, and two aces. Sasha Zayatz led the defense with 16 digs, and Hannah Lombardi chipped in six kills and two blocks. Fredonia totaled 14 service aces and 62 digs, pulling away in the fourth set to close out the match.
RIT 3, Fredonia State 2 (32-30, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 15-12)
Fredonia battled back from a two-sets-to-one deficit and forced a decisive fifth set before RIT escaped with the victory. Sheldon led the Blue Devils with 13 kills, four service aces, and four block assists. O'Brien added 11 kills, while Musielak finished with eight kills, 14 digs, and three aces. Boswell posted a double-double with 25 assists and 11 digs, and Daniella Chamberlain anchored the defense with 17 digs. Hannah Lombardi added eight kills on a .636 hitting percentage, and Bria Hunter contributed six kills and three blocks. After dropping a marathon opening set, Fredonia responded by winning the third and fourth sets to force a fifth, but RIT scored three of the final four points to secure the match.
