CANTON, NY -- Championship day of the 2013 USCAA Volleyball National Championship features two semifinal matches, the third place game and the championship game throughout the day at SUNY Canton's Convention, Athletics, and Recreation Center.
The first match-up features Florida College take on Marygrove College, while Daemen College and Rochester College meet in the second tilt.
Game recaps for each of the first three matches of the day are below.
Semifinals -- 10:00 a.m., CARC
Florida College def. Marygrove College, 3-1 (25-16, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22)
Despite dropping their first set of the 2013 USCAA Volleyball National Championship, Florida College survived a four set thriller with Marygrove College to advance to the championship match at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
The Falcons took the first two sets easily for the early 2-0 advantage, but Marygrove struck back with a two-point win in third set, 25-23, to pick up their first set win of the day. Florida grabbed an early lead in the fourth set, and while the Mustangs tied the score at 12-12, Florida was able to hang on towards the end of the set to pull out the win.
Four Florida players finished with double digit kills, while Laura Smith recorded a tournament-best 51 assists. Camille Crim led the offensive onslaught by Florida with 17 kills, while Malea Kalina added 15 of her own. Devyn Jackson tallied 14 kills, and Savannah Gorman rounded out the Falcon klls with 10.
All seven Florida players who saw action recorded a dig, with Olivia Luallen leading the way with 13. Jackson added nine of her own as Florida held Marygrove to an .094 hitting percentage.
Marygrove had eight players record a kill, as Kiara Cobbs led the way with nine. Amelia Velez added eight kills, while Nicole Kempinski had 15 assists and four digs. Kara Kempinski led the defensive stand for the Mustangs with 32 digs, and teammate Kat Hall added 10 digs and five kills.
Marygrove will play in the third place game at 2:00 p.m. in the CARC against the loser of the Daemen College-Rochester College match.
Semifinals -- 12:00 p.m., CARC
Daemen College def. Rochester College, 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-21)
Defending National Champion Daemen College cruised into the 2013 USCAA Volleyball National Championship match with a straight set 3-0 win over Rochester College in the second semifinal match. The Wildcats will face eight-time National Champion Florida College in the finals for the second consecutive year. The championship match is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at SUNY Canton's CARC facility.
The Wildcats hit .278 during the match, led by Mackenzie Knihinicki with seven kills on 20 attacks. Ye Wang and Brittany Anthon each recorded six kills, while Paige Tilert added 21 digs for the Daemen defense.
Kaley Vazquez dished out 17 assists for Daemen, while Chelsea Turcer added nine. Lindsey Nowak, Kaitlin Watchey and Amber Drzymala each notched four kills for the Wildcats, while Drzymala also served up four aces and had 10 digs.
Rochester, who's only losses of the week came to Daemen and Florida, struggled early and was unable to recover against the relentless Wildcats attack. Breanna Pelloni had eight kills and five digs for the Warriors, while Sara Hayes added 17 assists and seven digs. Rochester hit -.036 during the match, their worst offensive output of the tournament.
Rochester will face a familiar foe in the third place game, as they meet Marygrove College for the fourth time this season. Marygrove leads the season series 2-1. The third place game is set for 2:00 p.m. at the CARC on SUNY Canton's campus.
Third Place Game -- 2:00 p.m., CARC
Marygrove College def. Rochester College, 3-1 (25-10, 25-20, 16-25, 25-22)
Marygrove College captured the 2013 USCAA Volleyball National Championship Third Place trophy with a 3-1 win over Rochester College at the CARC at SUNY Canton. The Mustangs, who entered the tournament as the overall number one seed, picked up their fifth win of the tournament, finishing 5-1 with their only loss coming in the semifinals to Florida College.
Rochester College finishes the tournament 4-3 after a 3-1 pool play showing led to a quarterfinal win before two straight losses, one in the semifinals and in the third place game.
Marygrove received a strong defensive performance from libero Kara Kempinski, who earned All-Tournament Team honors with her efforts. Kempinski finished with 18 digs and two service aces in the match. Nicole Kempinski recorded 32 assists, a high this week for the setter. Amelia Velez recorded 14 kills for the Mustangs, while teammate Kat Hall added eight kills and four digs.
Rochester was paced by Breanna Pelloni, who finished with 16 kills on 35 attacks, hitting .286 in the losing effort. Brittany Alexander added seven kills and five digs for the Warriors, while adding to her block total with two. Alexander finished the week with 19 total blocks, helping earn her All-Tournament Team honors.
Rochester, who finished third in the 2012 edition of the USCAA Volleyball Championships, fell to 1-3 against the Mustangs on the season. Marygrove finishes their season 22-15, while Rochester goes home 25-24 for 2013.
