SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College volleyball team overpowered Bard in straight sets, 3–0 (25–14, 25–10, 25–13), Saturday afternoon at the Williamson Sports Center.
- Sophomore Isobel Streeper led a 15-ace team performance with six, while senior middle Maya Stolarz hit .533 with eight kills and two block assists.
- Catriona Hoelperl steered the offense with 26 assists, and libero Marlowe McIntyre posted a match-high 12 digs.
- The Thoroughbreds improved to 12-9 overall and 4-3 in the Liberty League following the weekend sweep.
- After a tight opening stretch, Stolarz teamed with Jazlin Chen for a stuff and later hammered a Hoelperl set to spark separation. Madison Manning added a service ace, McIntyre followed with an ace during a 7-1 push that gave the Thoroughbreds an insurmountable eight-point cushion.
- Streeper took over from the line in set two. She rolled up four aces in a to highlight a run of six-straight Skidmore points, while Hoelperl mixed in two service aces and a kill and assisted on eight of Skidmore's kills. O'Connell capped the stanza with a pair of aces to make it 24–9 before Claire Sabo finished at set point. Skidmore hit .500 in the set with just one error.
- Hoelperl fed Stolarz on consecutive slides in the beginning of the third set, then Streeper dropped in two more late aces as Skidmore closed on a 9–1 run. Chloe Heitman (5 kills, .333) sealed match point with an ace. The Thoroughbreds hit .323 and limited Bard to .190 in the third.
- O'Connell finished with a match-high four blocks including two solo stuffs.
- Athena Braverman chipped in six digs and two aces; Manning added an ace and three digs.
- Skidmore as a team out-blocked the Raptors 6-0 while holding the visitors to a .090 attack percentage.
- Alex Beer had six kills to lead the way for Bard (3-20, 0-6 Liberty League).
UP NEXT
Skidmore will host a tri-match with Clarkson and Oswego next Saturday Nov. 1. The final league match of the year against Clarkson begins at 2 p.m. as both teams are fighting for playoff seeding.
