It was a perfect SUNYAC Pool Play weekend for the Fredonia women's volleyball team.
The Blue Devils improved to 5-1 in the conference (13-7 overall) with victories Saturday first over Potsdam, then over Oswego, by 3-1 scores. They were also 3-1 winners Friday over Oneonta and trail only Brockport for the top spot in the conference.
"I'm proud of our team for battling all weekend," Fredonia Head Coach Geoff Braun said. "Wins are always hard to come by and SUNYAC wins are extra special. It was truly a team effort."
Tied 1-1 in sets against Potsdam and down 21-20 in the third set, the Blue Devils closed out the set with five straight points. Emma Falk (York, N.Y.) got things all square at 21-21 with a kill off a set from Amanda Mosack (Webster). With Makenna Kallin (Owego) serving, Selena Brown (South Ozone Park) put the Blue Devils on top 22-21 with a kill, followed by a consecutive kills by Kristen Stanek (Hamburg) and Kailey Falk (York, N.Y.) on set ups by Mosack. Kallin closed out the set with a service ace for a 25-21 Fredona win.
The turning point of the fourth and decisive set came was an 8-0 Fredonia run. Down 12-10. Mosack up kills by Emma Falk and Stanek to forge a 10-10 tie. A Potdam attack error put the Blue Devils on top 11-10. Out of a Potsdam timeout, Emma Falk had a kill, Stanek a kill from Mosack, Rachel Aiello (Baldwinsville) a service ace, Mosack a kill from Aiello, and Stanek another kill from Mosack for a 16-10 Blue Devil lead. Fredonia won the set 25-20.
Stanek and Kailey Falk finished the match with 12 kills each while Emma Falk had 10 kills with a .533 hitting percentage. Mosack was credited with 19 assists and Hallie Christopher (East Amherst) with 18. Kailey Falk and Kallin had four service aces each. Courtney Poirier (West Seneca) led with 14 digs while Kailey Falk had nine digs and five block assists.
In the Blue Devils' second match Saturday, Oswego won the first set 25-23 before Fredonia won the next there 25-12, 25-23 and 25-17. The Blue Devils hit .385 in the second set with 14 kills and four errors on just 26 attempts. They took command with an 8-1 run early in the second set. It included service aces by Kailey Falk and Aiello, two kills by Stanek, and one each by Kailey Falk and Emma Booth (Hamburg), plus two Oswego errors. Christopher had three assists during the run.
In the third set, a service ace by Christopher broke a 14-14 tie. Two straight Oswego attack errors preceded a kill by Booth. another Oswego attack error, and consecutive kills by Kailey Falk and Booth off feeds from Christopher. Oswego closed within a point down the stretch, at 23-22 and again at 24-23, before Stanek ended the set with a kill from Christopher.
The Blue Devils used a 13-4 run in the fourth and final set to close out the match. Kaliey Falk had five kills and two of her six service aces while Stanek had three kills during the stretch -- they finished with 18 and 16, respectively -- while Christopher had nine of her match-high 39 assists. Courtney Poirier had 25 digs, Christopher 13 and Kailey Falk 11. Emma Falk had three solo blocks and Brown two solos and one block assist.
