Syracuse, N.Y.  – The Le Moyne College volleyball team took on St. John's University at Syracuse University to open the Syracuse Invitational on Friday afternoon. The Red Storm took the victory in three sets against the Dolphins, with scores of 25218, 25-15, 25-17. Le Moyne moves to a 1-9 overall record on the season.  

In set one, the Red Storm took a seven-point lead, 13-6, before the Dolphins climbed back to within two points, 17-15, following separate streaks of three and four straight points. Le Moyne eventually tied the set at 19 before St. John's pulled away to take a 25-21 victory. Set two saw the Red Storm pull away to a 6-2 lead early and eventually to an 18-9 lead before the Dolphins scored three-straight points to cut the deficit to six. St,. John's, however, only allowed one more point the rest of the way and took set two, 25-15. The midway point of set three was mostly back-and-forth between the two squads but Le Moyne was unable to keep up as the Red Storm took the set and match with a 25-17 third set victory.

Sophomore outside hitter Nina Salas (Austin, T.X. / McNeil) led the Dolphins with five kills against the Red Storm, while junior opposite hitter Branwyn Lupton (Napanee, O.N. / Napanee District Secondary School) and sophomore outside hitter/DS Piper Hooey (Elmira, N.Y. / Elmira) each added another four. Sophomore libero/DS Cami Zajac (Syracuse, N.Y. / West Genesee) led the squad with a pair of service aces while senior setter/DS Haley Gerken (Buffalo, N.Y./Frontier) rounded out the offense with a team-best 11 assists in the loss. 

Defensively, junior libero/DS Haley Buescher (Toledo, O.H./St. Ursula Academy) recorded a team-high nine digs while senior middle hitter Nil Ezgi Tasdelen (Izmir, Turkey/Ugur Okullari) led all players with five blocks in the match. Sophomore outside hitter Payton Horan (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) and freshman middle hitter Eiley Schneider (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) each added another three blocks against St. John's.

For the Red Storm, Erin Jones led with 13 kills while Ella Parker led with four service aces. Martina Capponcelli (18) and Jones (14) each tallied double digits assists, respectively in the win. On defense, Rashanny Solano Smith recorded 11 digs while Chloe Bell recorded a team-high three blocks in the win. 

What's Next:
Le Moyne will host Siena University at Ted Grant Court to close out the Syracuse Invitational tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 20 at 2:00 p.m..