The St. Lawrence University volleyball team split day two of the Bengal Challenge with a 3-0 win over Buffalo State in the first match of the day and fell to John Carroll University 3-0 in the final match of the weekend on Saturday afternoon in Buffalo, New York.

Match 1 vs. Buffalo State –

The Saints got off to an early lead in the first set over Buffalo. Julia Wagner put St. Lawrence up 10-7 with a kill, assisted by Katie Kull. After three-straight points from the Bengals, the Saints extended their lead 14-10. With back-to-back blocks by Wagner and Marissa Parker, the Saints took a 19-12 lead. St. Lawrence clinched the first set 25-16.

During the second set, each team matched point-for-point up until a 13-13 tie. The Bengals then took a five-point (20-15) lead over the Saints, but with four-straight points and kills by Amanda Teppo and Grace Kelly, St. Lawrence rallied to tie 22-22 and again at 26-26. The Saints claimed the second set by a final score of 28-26.

St. Lawrence kicked off the third set with a 5-1 lead over the Bengals and remained in control after Buffalo was able to rebound and tie the game 18-18. Looking to clinch the match after three sets, the Saints finished with two final kills from Masha Kolesnikova for a 25-20 win.

Kolesnikova led the Saints with 12 kills, 12 digs and five service aces. Kelly tallied eight kills and Teppo added seven. Teppo and Parker recorded two blocks each.

Buffalo was led by Eimile O'Brien and Lauren Hansen with seven kills each. Hansen also tallied 10, while Victoria Rigler and Alyssa Durski added nine and seven, respectively.

"We made a lot of unforced errors today as a team and we were fortunate to sneak out of the Buffalo match with a win," said head coach Shelly Roiger.

Match 2 vs. John Carroll University –

St. Lawrence dropped the final match of the day to the Blue Streaks by scores of 25-20, 25-20 and 27-25.

Kolesnikova and Wagner led the Saints once again with seven kills each. Ally Good recorded 16 digs for the Saints, while Kelly and Kull added 10. Kelly also added three service aces for the Saints and Kull finished both matches with a total of 58 assists. Kull entered this weekends tournament ranked third in the nation in assists per set.

"The John Carroll match was disappointing because we played pretty uninspiring," Roiger continued. "We got caught just going through the motions at times and we looked very fatigued. After the match we talked about areas where we need to improve and how critical it is to have a great week of practice. With both matches last year going five sets, we know our Liberty League opener will be a dog fight. Everyone is 0-0 now and this week we will get healthy and I look forward to seeing this team work their tails off in practice."

Kolesnikova earned a spot on the Bengal Challenge All-Tournament Team.

St. Lawrence fell to 9-3 on the season after Saturday's split and will travel to Skidmore for their first Liberty League match of the season on Friday September 22nd.