SCHENECTADY, NY – Union goes to five sets twice but are defeated by Potsdam and Keene State at the Viniar Athletic Center Saturday afternoon.
 
The Dutchwomen started out to a 7-3 lead to open the set against the Bears. Union was able to pad their lead as the Bears took their first timeout at 10-4. Kelley White and Lauren Woods made it difficult for the Potsdam offense to get going, as the offense was inconsistent. Union was able to breakout to a 14-6 with a well-balanced attack. Jenna Blujus sparked the Bears attack briefly with a service ace with a small 3-0 run. In addition, Jill Dye tried to keep the Bears within striking distance with tenacious defense. However, the Dutchwomen effort was relentless on both ends with Marissa Vollmer and Rajpreet Dhaliwal extending plays. Potsdam was able to reduce a nine point Dutchwomen lead down to three as Union took a timeout at 20-17. Woods was able to close out set one as the Dutchwomen took it 25-19.
 
Potsdam kept pace with Union as it was even at five in the second set. After exchanging the next ten points, Sara Anderson created some separation as the Bears went up 12-10. Potsdam maintained the lead with an ace by Dye and sporadic play by the Union offense. After trailing 20-16, the Dutchwomen offense gained some momentum with a finesse touch by Rachel Wyman to cut the deficit in half. However, Blujus pushed the match to game point and led the Bears on a 5-1 run to end the second set 25-19.
 
Nora Wood and Liza Fields exchanged kills, as it was all even at five in the third set. Each team kept it even as it was knotted at nine. After a brief four-point lead for the Dutchwomen, Rachel Auerbach leveled the score for the Bears at 14 all. Wood and White gave the Dutchwomen 6-1 run as the Bears trailed 15-20. After a Potsdam timeout, Fields tried to rally the Bears with a service ace. Kayla Howard kept the Bears close with a kill but Union was able to take set three, 25-22.
 
The Bears held a slim lead early in the first set with a 7-6 edge. Union kept pace with some great defense to even the score at 12. After trailing by four at one point, Wyman sparked a rally for the Dutchwomen as the Bears lead decreased to one. However, the Bears attack was resilient and built their lead to four again at 23-19. Anderson pushed the set to game point but Wyman reduced the lead to two. Potsdam however was able to push the match to a fifth set with a 25-22 win.
 
Woods and Kayla Howard used some finesse touches near the net to start the final set. Each team remained close as the Bears clung to an 8-6 lead early. Howard and Anderson sparked the offense as the Bears extended their lead to four. White and Wyman inched the Dutchwomen within one at 11-10; However, Auerbach and Howard powered the Bears on a 4-1 run to win the final set 15-11.
 
Anderson paced the Bears in kills with 19 while Auerbach and Howard chipped in with 13 and 10 respectively. Blujus dished out 47 assists in the win and led the defensive unit with 23 digs.
 
Woods set a career-high 16 kills to headline the Dutchwomen attack. Wyman and White pitched in with 13 kills each in the loss. Mackenzie Westfall dished out 50 assists, a season-high while the defensive unit was paced by Vollmer with 33 digs.
 
In the match against Keene State, Wyman and Dhaliwal started the Dutchwomen with a couple of service aces to aid a 9-5 start. The Owls were able to level the score at 11 with strong hitting from Catherine Kazazian, Madeline Nossif and Angela Silveri. Keene remained aggressive on offense with Silveri leading the way to give the Owls a 20-18 lead. The Owls managed to take the first set 25-23.
 
Union trailed early in the second set as Keene bolted out to a 9-2 lead. The Owls were able to take advantage of a Dutchwomen offense that sputtered to build a 16-5 advantage. Collectively, the Owls put forth a well-balanced attack and defended well to take set two 25-10 capped off by an ace from Olivia Broderick.
 
Keene got the third set started building a 6-3 lead highlighted by an ace from Kaitlin Boyer. Dhaliwal and Shannon Hughes aided the Dutchwomen attack to get within two at 12-6. Nossif kept the slim lead for the Owls with a block at 15-14. However, Hughes served up three consecutive points to give Union a 17-16 edge. Boyer responded for the Owls with three straight points of her own for Keene to recapture the lead. Despite the Owls efforts, a Woods block sparked Union to take the third set 25-23.  
 
Union fell behind again as they trailed 6-3 and 13-7 in the fourth set. Woods, Wyman and Ariana Abrams stepped up defensively to get the Dutchwomen within two. Kim Armstrong highlighted an eight-point run as Union led 18-15. After trading the next six points, Hughes gave the Dutchwomen a 22-18 lead. Keene was able to chop the lead down to one at 22-21 late in the set. Kills from Woods, Abrams and Hughes however forced another fifth set with a 25-21 victory.
 
The Dutchwomen held a slight edge in the final set with a 4-3 advantage early. Silveri continued to test the Union defense. However, Union's hustle extended many rallies. Keene took the lead as the Dutchwomen took their first timeout at 7-5. After the timeout, the Owls sparked a 7-2 run. Despite dropping the last two sets, Keene held on to take the final set 15-10 and the match 3-2.
 
Dhaliwal and Wyman led Union in hitting with eight kills each while Abrams and Woods each had seven. Westfall and Armstrong orchestrated the attack with 19 and 15 respectively. Carissa Vazzana paced the defensive unit with a season high 25 digs in the loss.
 
Union will play their last home game of the season as The Sage Colleges come visit on October 9 beginning at 7:00 p.m.