GENEVA, N.Y. – In the first season that the Liberty League Tournament expanded to six qualifiers, the Union College women's volleyball team made sure that the last team in the postseason made its presence felt.
 
Backed by 17 kills from first-year Shannon McGrath and 15 kills from junior Keara Page, sixth-seeded Union fought to the end and knocked off third-seeded William Smith College by a 3-2 (25-20, 15-25, 25-20, 23-25, 17-15) score in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament on Tuesday night at Bristol Gymnasium.
 
With the win, Union advances to the Liberty League Tournament semifinals, where the team will take on second-seeded Clarkson University. The match, held at top-seeded Ithaca College, is set for a 4 p.m. start on Friday. The winner advances to the conference championship game on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
When these two teams played 10 days ago, Union managed only 31 total points in a three-set sweep. But the return of first-year Shannon McGrath seemed to energize the visitors, who received important contributions from almost everyone who stepped on the court in a total team win.
 
McGrath finished the match with a team-leading 17 kills and added eight digs and two aces, followed by Page with a career-high 15 kills on .270 hitting. Senior Haley Kresch directed the offense with 32 assists, moving her into 10th place in career assists at Union, and added 12 digs and three aces for her second straight double-double and third of the year.
 
Defensively, first-year Georgia Pool was all over the court with 22 digs and six assists, while senior middle blockers Julia Webster and Denesha Lafontant chipped in six kills and five blocks, respectively.
 
"I could not be more proud of how the team showed up today," said first-year head coach Annie DeLoid. "From the minute they stepped into the gym, they were locked in and ready to battle. Our preseason motto was 'prepare to compete' and they were certainly ready for that moment tonight."
 
The host Herons jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the opening set, but Union was not fazed and rattled off an 8-1 run to take its first lead at 11-8. Still leading at 13-12, the visitors made another decisive push, scoring seven of the next eight points to take its largest lead at 20-13 behind three kills from junior Mya Delesdernier.
 
Union had its worst hitting frame of the night in the second set to allow William Smith to tie the score, but the visitors responded with another good set in the third. McGrath started off with a kill and an ace as part of a 6-1 opening run, and Kresch served up three straight aces as part of a 7-0 stretch that ballooned the lead to 11 at 17-6. The visitors managed to hold on to take a 2-1 lead.
 
The fourth set was back-and-forth, featuring four lead changes and 14 ties. Kills by McGrath, Lafontant and sophomore Farah Elgala gave Union its largest lead at 16-13. The visitors still led 19-17 after a kill by junior Nikki Newcomer before the Herons went on a quick 5-1 run to take back the lead for good and force a final frame.
 
With the momentum seemingly going William Smith's way, Union started the final set strong with kills by Page and Webster as part of a 6-1 run. The home team battled back to knot the score at 10, but a WSC service error and an ace by Pool made it a 12-10 Union lead. The visitors could not convert on a pair of match points at 14-13 and 15-14, but Page put down another kill to bring up a third match point and junior Brooke Fleming served up an ace to give Union the win.
 
Up next for Union is a Clarkson team that swept them on Senior Day in mid-October. But with momentum going Union's way, it might be enough to turn around another result in Union's favor.
 
Added DeLoid: "We have been building all season and it is so fun to see the hard work pay off, but we're not done yet!"