GENEVA, N.Y. – The Clark University volleyball team (1-0) opened the Matthew Heckler era with a 3-1 victory over SUNY Geneseo (0-1) on Friday afternoon from Bristol Gymnasium.
The Cougars won the first set 25-20, took the second set 25-19, dropped the third set 26-24, and recorded a 27-25 win in the deciding set.
How it Happened
- Clark rattled off six straight points to open the first set as senior Yvanna Torres recorded a service ace and senior Camille Sterling added a pair of kills.
- Graduate student Victoria Pastor then registered a pair of kills and an assist in the middle of the set as the Cougars took a 15-6 lead in the first set.
- Sophomore Winifred Gakidis added a pair of kills over the remainder of the set and a kill from graduate student Camille Flurry off a feed from sophomore Julia Dopazo as Clark took the first set 25-20.
- After falling behind 12-8 in the second set, the Cougars rattled off five unanswered points as Pastor and sophomore Katelyn Williams each registered kills to take a 13-12 lead.
- Graduate student Sofia Scherrer del Llano, Sterling, and Pastor combined to score the team's next three points before the Cougars rattled off five straight points including a service ace from junior Yumeng Liu to take a 21-17 edge.
- Pastor and Sterling combined for a block to seal the second set at 25-19 and early in the third set, the duo each posted a pair of kills.
- The Cougars rallied to take a 19-18 lead in the third set after trailing by four sparked by a Dopazo service ace and nearly closed out the match before Geneseo scored five unanswered to force a fourth set.
- Trailing 13-7 in the fourth set, Sterling recorded two kills, sophomore Harper Chinn registered a service ace, and Pastor tallied a kill to pull with two.
- The Knights were a point away from forcing a fifth set, but Pastor and Sterling took over to help propel the Cougars to a 27-25 win in the fourth set.
Inside the Stats
- The Cougars recorded 50 kills, dished out 46 assists, six blocks, and seven service aces.
- Sterling led the way with 15 kills and five blocks.
- Pastor added 12 kills and 13 digs.
- Torres (21) and Dopazo (19) combined for 40 assists.
- Liu registered a team-leading 15 digs.
What's Next
The scarlet and white will return to the court tomorrow for a pair of games opening with Oswego State at 10:30 a.m. and concluding with a match against William Smith at 1:00 p.m.