SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College women's volleyball team clinched a Liberty League playoff berth Friday night, rallying from an opening-set loss to defeat St. Lawrence 3-1 (17-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-16) at Williamson Sports Center on the team's Stable Game. The Thoroughbreds improved to 12-10 overall and 3-4 in Liberty League play, while the Saints dropped to 13-11 and 2-5. Tournament seeding and playoff matchups will be determined Saturday.
- Chloe Heitman powered Skidmore with a match-high 15 kills on .406 hitting and two service aces. Natalie Pedersen added 13 kills on .333 hitting, six digs and two blocks.
- Catriona Hoelperl recorded a double-double with 43 assists and 11 digs while adding one service ace and two block assists. Hoelperl surpassed 700 assists for the season, bringing her total to 732, and reached 50 service aces.
- Katy O'Connell contributed nine kills on .467 hitting and three block assists, while Oia Hughes added nine kills and a solo block.
- Marlowe McIntyre led the Thoroughbreds with 13 digs and two service aces. Cece Kilroy finished with seven kills, 10 digs and a match-high three aces.
- Skidmore held a 54-43 advantage in kills and hit .310 compared to .188 for St. Lawrence. The Thoroughbreds also finished with nine service aces and five blocks. After the opening set, Skidmore hit .394, .303 and .464 over the final three frames.
- St. Lawrence seized control of the opening set with five consecutive points to break an 8-8 tie and build a 13-8 advantage. The Saints extended their lead to 19-11 and held off a late Skidmore push to claim the 25-17 victory.
- Skidmore responded in the second, using a 7-1 run to turn a 10-10 tie into a 17-11 lead. Heitman delivered two kills during the decisive stretch, while McIntyre added an ace. The Thoroughbreds maintained control down the stretch before O'Connell delivered the final kill to even the match with a 25-17 win.
- The Saints jumped ahead 8-4 in the third before Skidmore rattled off four straight points to tie the score. From a 9-9 deadlock, the Thoroughbreds used a 6-1 burst to seize a 15-10 advantage. Skidmore extended its lead to 22-15 behind an ace from Kilroy and a kill from O'Connell before holding off St. Lawrence for the 25-20 victory.
- Skidmore carried its momentum into the fourth, opening a 9-4 lead behind consecutive service aces from Kilroy. The Thoroughbreds continued to pull away, stretching their advantage to 16-10 before using another scoring burst to move ahead 22-14. Skidmore hit .464 with 14 kills and just one attack error in the frame, and Hughes delivered the match-clinching kill to secure the 25-16 win and the postseason berth.
- Araiza Acum-Santos led St. Lawrence with 13 kills, while Bridget Gammons and McKayla Pollard added 10 apiece. Vanessa Latam recorded 32 assists, and Cassady Smith finished with a match-high 14 digs.
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Skidmore travels to Poughkeepsie on to face Vassar at 1 p.m. in its Liberty League regular-season finale.
