BUFFALO, N.Y. – The D'Youville University Volleyball Team hosted their conference opener on Saturday afternoon resulting in a 3-0 sweep of the St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans.

D'Youville University 3 vs St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans 0 – (25-10, 25-14, 25-10)
Set One
The Saints got off to a hot start on Saturday afternoon jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead. After STAC got one point back, the Saints went on a big six-point run to extend their lead. Two service aces from Emma Wlostowski (Alden, N.Y. / Alden) along with kills from Cameron Ulinski (Parkland, FL / Marjory Stoneman Douglas) and Giselle Ramirez (Miami, FL / School for Advanced Studies) put DYU ahead 11-1. With the score at 13-7, the Saints turned it on offensively scoring ten-in- a row to jump up 23-7. The run included kills from Mitha Hatwar (Columbus, OH / Olentangy Liberty) and Maddy O'Brien (East Amherst, N.Y. / Clarence) along with three aces from Giselle Ramirez. The Spartans fought to stay in the game, but a service error from STAC gave D'Youville the 25-10 win in set one.

Set Two
The Spartans had some fight in them jumping up 6-4 to start the second set, but the Saints found their rhythm to take the 7-6 lead following an ace from Alex Darby (Huntington, WV / Spring Valley). The score remained close until D'Youville went on an 11-2 run to extend their lead to 22-12. The Spartans got two back, but a kill from O'Brien along with two STAC errors gave the Saints the 25-14 win in set two.

Set Three
The Saints offense stayed strong going into the third set as the Saints took the 9-1 lead. After the Spartans got two back, the Saints once again hit their stride and put up eight points-in-a-row to hold and astounding 18-3 lead. As the Spartans worked to stay alive, the score was brought to 22-10, but a kill from Maddie Boglev (Hamburg, N.Y. / St. Mary's) and two STAC errors gave the Saints the 25-10 win in set three and the 3-0 sweep over St. Thomas Aquinas to begin conference play 1-0.

As a team, the Saints outscored the Spartans 75-34 while recording 37 kills as a team, nine serving aces, four blocks, 36 assists, ad 40 digs.

Up Next
The Saints are back in action at home for another ECC Conference matchup against the Mercy University Mavericks at 1:00 PM.