SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Union College women's volleyball team had good news on and off the court on Saturday, as Union picked up two non-conference wins over Plattsburgh State University and Russell Sage College and also earned their first Liberty League Tournament berth since 2016.
 
Union earned two wins on day two of the Skidmore College Invitational, starting off with a 3-1 (25-15, 25-11, 21-25, 25-17) win over Plattsburgh State and finishing with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-21) comeback win over Russell Sage.
 
While the two wins were nice for Union (12-14), the most important match of the day was William Smith College's 3-1 win over St. Lawrence University. That result clinched the sixth seed for Union in next week's Liberty League Tournament, meaning Union will head to third-seeded William Smith for a first-round match on Tuesday.
 
First-year Shannon McGrath finished off her excellent weekend with 25 kills, while senior Haley Kresch ended the day with 46 assists to become the 11th player in program history to record 1,000 career assists.
 
Union 3, Plattsburgh State 1
 
McGrath continued to have the hot hand this weekend with 16 kills on .353 hitting in the victory, while juniors Keara Page and Mya Delesdernier added nine and seven kills, respectively. Kresch reached the century mark with the 11th of her 23 assists in the win, and first-year Georgia Pool added a match-best 16 digs.
 
Union never trailed in each of the first two sets after McGrath started both frames off with a kill. The Dutchwomen hit extremely well to start off the day, putting down 14 kills with two errors (.429) in the first set and adding 11 kills with one error (.400) in the second stanza.
 
The errors piled up in the third set to allow Plattsburgh to stay in the match, but Union came back with 12 kills in the fourth set to close out the contest. Down 10-9, McGrath and Page combined for five kills as part of a 6-0 run that gave Union back the lead for good.
 
Union 3, Russell Sage 1
 
McGrath and Delesdernier led a balanced attack with nine kills apiece in the second match of the day. Seven Union players had at least four kills in the victory, and Kresch added a double-double with 23 assists and 10 digs.
 
Union made things harder by letting a late lead slip away in the first set, as two Union errors and a Sage ace allowed the Gators to take the opening frame. The team then trailed for much of the second stanza before a big 7-1 run that featured five aces by sophomore Morgan Napier put Union in front for good.
 
Delesdernier had a pair of kills to help Union jump out to a 5-1 lead in the third set, and Union led by as many as seven in cruising to a 2-1 lead. The fourth set was the closest of the match with 11 ties, the last coming at 18-all. However, two Sage errors and a Delesdernier kill gave Union back the lead for good and a Sage error clinched the set and the match for the Dutchwomen.
 
Union and William Smith will face off in the first-round of the postseason on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Geneva. Check back to UnionAthletics.com early next week for a full Liberty League Tournament preview.