Four different players had at least five kills in a match and nine different players recorded at least one ace as the St. Lawrence University volleyball team won its first two matches of the season with convincing victories over Johnson State and Southern Vermont Friday night in Burkman Gymnasium in Canton. The matches were part of the Victory Promotions Tournament co-hosted by SUNY Potsdam and St. Lawrence.

The Saints (2-5) beat Johnson State in three sets by scores of 25-8, 25-11 and 25-7 before downing Southern Vermont in three sets by scores of 25-12, 25-9 and 25-14.

"Our team did a much better job of playing with sustained focus throughout the match," said head coach Shelly Roiger. "They played with much greater energy and confidence tonight and it was nice to get those first wins of the season. We will play two very good opponents tomorrow with Buff State and Kean and it will be critical for us to maintain and continue to raise the bar in terms of intensity, focus, and aggressiveness."

The Saints will face Buffalo State and Kean University Saturday in the second day of the tournament.

Against Johnson State, Grace Kelly had five kills and served a team-leading six aces while Maddy Ruehl added five kills and Katie Kull handed out 14 assists. Vivian Susko led the Saints defensively with four digs. As a team, the Saints recorded 21 aces in the contest with Marissa Parker and Kull recording four each and Susko adding three.

In the Southern Vermont match, Masha Kolesnikova led the Saints with nine kills while Amanda Teppo registered four kills and six blocks. Elle Gray had five kills, Maddy Bishop had 19 assists and Ally Good led the team with 15 digs.

The Saints limited the opponents to a combined total of just six kills in the two matches and finished with team totals of 27 aces and 25 blocks.