SallyAnne Rudny digs during Fredonia's 3-2 win Tuesday (Ron Szot photo).
Fredonia rallied for a 3-2 SUNYAC Tournament first-round win over Potsdam before a loud Dods Hall crowd Tuesday.
Down 2-1 in sets and 19-16 in the scoreboard, the Blue Devils (22-9) closed out the fourth set with a 26-24 win. Senior opposite Kailey Falk (York, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy) served the final three points. She had an ace, junior outside hitter SallyAnne Rudny (Jamestown/Southwestern) delivered a kill, and Potsdam erred on the final point.
The Bears (13-18) never recovered while the Blue Devils rode the crest of a raucous Fredonia crowd dressed in blue for a decisive 15-7 win in the fifth set. Other set scores were 25-23 Potsdam in the first, 25-23 Fredonia in the second, and 25-21 Potsdam in the third.
Fredonia will face #1 seed Geneseo at 7 p.m. in the second of two semifinal matches Friday. The championship match is set for 4 p.m. Saturday.
Falk was Fredonia's top hitter with 19 kills, Rudny added 15, and freshman middle blocker-opposite Christie Ackendorf (Buffalo/Sweet Home) had 11. Potsdam was led by Gabby Scott and Monica Mack with 12 kills each, and Nicole Hansen added 10.
Errors nearly proved Fredonia's undoing. They had a total of 37 to 24 for the Bears.
The Blue Devils had their most trouble with their serves. They made six service errors to none for Potsdam in the first set. The Bears took advantage, gained confidence, and carried the momentum into the fourth set. That's when the momentum swung back to Fredonia for good and got the crowd back into the game.
A kill by Rudny got the ball rolling and cut the Potsdam lead to 19-17. Ackendorf had two kills and a service ace and Falk two kills during a run that saw the Blue Devils forge a 22-22 tie. The Bears scored the next two points, on a Ackendorf service error and a kill by Emme Price, to push the Blue Devils to the brink of elimination.
Inspired by loud cheers and rhythmic chanting by the Fredonia student section, the Blue Devils rattled off four straight points. The run began with a Potsdam attack error following a block by freshman middle blocker Emily Jones (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic). Falk stepped to the serving line and aced, this time tying the score at 24-24.
That was followed by Rudny's go-ahead kill, set up by junior setter Amanda Mosack (Webster/Webster Schroeder), one of her 56 assists. The Blue Devils closed out the set when the Bears were unable to return Falk's third straight serve.
Kills by Rudny and sophomore middle blocker Emma Falk (York, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy) gave Fredonia a 2-0 lead in the fifth set. The Blue Devils stretched their lead to 5-1 on another kill by Emma Falk and back-to-back aces by Rudny.
Potsdam pulled within two points, 7-5, but could get no closer, making four attack errors down the stretch. The final point was served by sophomore libero Kaitlin Patt (Spencerport/Spencerport) and included block assists by Mosack and Emma Falk.
Defensively, senior libero Rachiel Aiello (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) had 24 digs, Kailey Falk 22, and Rudny 20, while Emma Falk totaled seven blocks.
