ROCHESTER, N.Y. — D'Youville (1-8, 0-0 NEC) faced two tough opponents at the Voller Athletic Center, falling in straight sets to both Roberts Wesleyan (8-6, 0-0 ECC) and Merrimack College (3-8, 0-0 DI Independent).
Game One
In the match against Merrimack College, D'Youville began competitively, exchanging early points before
Ty Parker and
Ethan Robinson (Scarborough, Ontario / Neil McNeil) delivered key kills, bringing the score to 10-9 in favor of D'Youville.
Peyton Planz (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shaler Area) added to the effort with assists and a service ace, extending the lead to 13-9. However, the Warriors tied the set at 20-20 and eventually secured a narrow 25-23 victory.
The second set was challenging for D'Youville, as the Warriors established an early lead. Despite strong efforts from Ptaszkiewicz and Robinson, D'Youville struggled with errors and could not maintain momentum. A late rally led by Parker and
Skyler Tutor (St. Cloud, FL / St. Cloud) fell short, and the set concluded with the Warriors winning 25-21.
The third set proved difficult, with the Warriors gaining an early 3-0 lead. Although D'Youville responded with a kill from Parker, service errors hampered their efforts. Despite contributions from Pizarro-Amaya and Robinson, the Warriors maintained control and took the set 25-16, concluding the match.
Robinson led D'Youville's offense with 10 kills on 24 attempts. Planz distributed 20 assists while adding three kills and a service ace. Defensively,
Cleveland Brown Jr. collected eight digs, while Parker contributed five kills and three total blocks.
Game Two
In the match against Roberts Wesleyan, D'Youville struggled with 15 service errors while tallying 6.5 total blocks. The first set started with a kill from
Samuel Pizarro-Amaya (Seattle, Wash. / Shoreline), assisted by
Drew Vensko (Columbus, OH / Pickerington North), giving D'Youville an early advantage.
Ty Parker's (Syracuse, N.Y. / Jamesville-Dewitt) kill and errors from the Redhawks maintained a slight edge for D'Youville before the Redhawks rallied to take the set 25-22, capitalizing on D'Youville's final service error.
The second set saw D'Youville battling against a relentless Redhawks team, initially unable to gain momentum due to errors and effective blocks. Despite contributions from
Dempsey Ptaszkiewicz (Cincinnati, OH / Bishop Fenwick) and
Deeraj Varma (Gaithersburg, Md. / Quince Orchard), D'Youville could not overcome the Redhawks' consistent scoring, leading to a 25-17 set defeat.
In the third set, D'Youville started strong with a 3-0 lead but was soon overtaken by the Redhawks as they fought back to take the lead. Key plays from Varma and Ptaszkiewicz narrowed the score to 18-20, but the Redhawks secured the set 25-20 and the match overall.
Varma led the team with eight kills on 25 attempts, adding four digs and two blocks. Vensko contributed 19 assists and a block assist, while
Cleveland Brown Jr. recorded 10 digs. Markwardt had five kills on 18 attempts and three digs.
Up Next
Looking ahead, D'Youville is set to face St. Thomas Aquinas College on Friday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at home.
