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Saints volleyball rally past Union, clinch No. 2 Seed

Posted 10/26/14

The St. Lawrence University volleyball team pulled out a dramatic 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Union College on Saturday in Saratoga Springs, NY to clinch the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Liberty …

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Saints volleyball rally past Union, clinch No. 2 Seed

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The St. Lawrence University volleyball team pulled out a dramatic 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Union College on Saturday in Saratoga Springs, NY to clinch the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Liberty League Tournament. Junior Lexi Brown had 27 kills on the day to reach the 1,000 career kill mark, becoming only the fourth player in University history to reach the milestone.

St. Lawrence is now 22-11 overall and 9-3 in league after Saturday's split with Union and nationally-ranked No. 16 Clarkson. Despite being down 2-1 to the Dutchwomen, the Scarlet and Brown rallied for the 26-24, 11-25, 22-25, 25-17, 15-9 win, sending Union to 21-10. The Saints challenged the Golden Knights, who won the league with a perfect 12-0 regular season, but eventually fell 25-19, 25-21, 25-19.

"Our victory was a very hard-fought battle and I'm so proud of how this team has learned to compete and not back down when the game is on the line," said St. Lawrence head coach Shelly Roiger. "After being down 2-1, we got off to a great start in the fourth and got our momentum rolling. Our block got hot and our serving game found its touch, and it gives us the highest regular-season ranking we've ever had."

After edging Union in the opening game 26-24, the Saints struggled in the second set hitting -.231 to level the match at 1-1. Union earned the third 25-22 before the Saints rolled in the fourth and fifth sets to knock off the Dutchwomen and clinch the second seed. Brown finished with 15 kills, while Masha Kolesnikova added 11. Katie Rowell and Mariah Dignan had 15 digs each, while the Saints closed with 31 total blocks including eight from both Brown and Cristina Deschaine.

Union was led by Rachel Wyman's match-high 23 kills, while Amanda Price had 35 assists and Kat Moeller had 30 digs.

Following the five set match, St. Lawrence tried to steal a set from Clarkson, which has won 28 straight conference matches dating back to 2012. The Saints competed in all three sets, but fell victim to a Golden Knight run in each set that allowed Clarkson to earn the sweep. In the first, St. Lawrence trailed 17-15, but Clarkson won 6-of-7 points en route to the 25-19 win before a 7-1 run gave the Knights separation in the second.

St. Lawrence's best chance came in the third, as it built an 18-17 lead after a three-point run behind kills from Deschaine, Becky Briggs and a Clarkson error. However, Clarkson flexed its muscle with an 8-1 closing run to win the third set 25-19 and the match 3-0 to improve to 29-3 overall.

Brown had 12 kills in the loss but reached the 1,000 kill mark in the effort, while Katie Kull had team-highs in both assists (26) and digs (10). Victoria Kirkemo and Aishvina Arasu each had 12 kills for Clarkson, while Kirstie Shurie had 36 assists.

St. Lawrence will compete in the 2014 Oneonta Invitational next weekend before the Liberty League Tournament begins in Potsdam, NY on Friday, November 7.