Oswego, NY – The D'Youville women's volleyball team ended the current losing streak in their first match of the Oswego State Tournament Friday afternoon by defeating the Utica Pioneers by the final score of 3-2.

Down early to the Pioneers in the first set, sophomore Megan Schneider (Lockport, NY/Lockport) took over and had 4 services aces in 5 points to give D'Youville an 11-8 lead. Utica would come close to tying the game but Megan McCarthy (Eden, NY/Eden) would add 2 service aces of her own to give D'Youville a 5 point lead. The Spartans would continue to hold their lead until Utica tied the game at 22. McCarthy then had a kill and service ace followed by a block from Abby Booth (Hamburg, NY/Frontier) and Julie Fleming (Tonawanda, NY/Mt. St. Mary's Academy) to win the first set for the Spartans 25-22.

The second set would go the way of the Pioneers with the score of 25-22, despite the two teams batting to the end. Utica would jump out to an early 7-2 lead in the third set before Fleming led a Spartan comeback. Julie started off the team's run with a block teamed with Kaylee Stewart (Wilson, NY/Wilson), followed by back-to-back service aces. D'Youville took an 8-7 lead, and would then turn that lead into an 18-14 lead and take the set 25-23 after Fleming recorded 2 kills.

Again after losing a set, Utica would battle back and even the match up, winning the fourth set 25-20. Kendyll Smith (Petrolia, PA/Karns City) stepped up in the fifth set for the Spartans, leading the team on a 6-0 run that would give the team a 7-1 lead. D'Youville would keep that momentum going and finish of the set and the game with the final score of 15-9.

The Spartans would have 3 players in double-digit kills. Megan McCarthy led the team with 13, followed by Fleming with 12, Smith with 10, Schneider with 9 and Stewart with 8. Kaitlyn Grimm (Erie, PA/Iroquois) had a team high 14 digs while Schneider had 12. Abby Booth recorded 27 assist and Christina Horton (Irondequoit, NY/West Irondequoit) had 12.

Both McCarthy and Schneider had a team high 5 service aces, while Fleming had 6 total blocks. Stewart tallied 4 block assists and McCarthy was right behind her with 3.