Union College Athletics

SCHENETCADY, N.Y. – The Union College women's volleyball team swept Clarkson University on Saturday afternoon at Viniar Athletic Center, improving to 2-2 in the Liberty League behind its fourth consecutive match hitting in the .300s as a team. 

Juniors Kayla Martinez Cartagena and Georgia Pinciaro both had double-digit kills, and sophomore Shea Ringel and senior Erin Stevens both hit over .400 on 21-combined attempts. Union (13-6, 2-2 Liberty League) swept Clarkson (12-5, 2-3 Liberty League) for the second matchup in a row, marking the first time Union has blanked the Golden Knights consecutively since 2008. 

Trailing in the first set, Union went on a 10-point rally to pull away from Clarkson and go up 16-8. Senior Sydney Scanlon was at the line for the big run but only had one ace. Clarkson had no answer for the Union attack as three Garnet Chargers combined for eight kills in 10 points. Martinez Cartagena had four of those kills and ended her night with 14 on 34 swings. 

After winning the first 25-21, Union was down early again to Clarkson in the second. The Garnet Chargers never had more than a three-point rally but still battled back to take the lead for the first time at 13-12 and never relinquished it. 

Despite Union finally getting out to an early lead in the third, the Golden Knights put up their best fight in the eventual final set. Trailing by five, Clarkson went on a 7-1 run to tie it up at 11. Once again, Martinez Cartagena got hot and put down four kills down the stretch to lift Union past Clarkson 25-20. The Golden Knights had seven attack errors in the third set, with first-year Johanna Melhorn causing most of the miscues for the visitors. She had three block solos in the third and finished with five blocks in total. It was her fourth five-block match of the season, and her 0.84 blocks per set are sixth-most in the conference. 

First-year Charlotte Pernisie led the way again with 12 digs, giving her double-digit digs in back-to-back matches for the first time in her career. 

Union's sixth-match homestand comes to an end after five straight wins and a 5-1 record overall. Union also earned its first two conference victories of the season during the homestand and will hit the road for another conference match against RIT on Saturday, Oct. 17. Union also will play Widener while in the Flower City.