Union College Athletics

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College women's volleyball team posted a 1-1 record during a non-conference tri-match on Saturday inside Viniar Athletic Center, defeating University of Mount Saint Vincent 3-0 and falling 3-1 to Hamilton College while celebrating Senior Day and Homecoming and Family Weekend.

Union 3, Mount Saint Vincent (25-16, 25-15, 25-20)
Prior to the sweep of the Dolphins (5-15), Union (17-7) honored its seven seniors, Eleanor Watson, Sydney Scanlon, Shelby McKim, Graciela Escobar, Maddie McCarron, Samantha Janker, and Erin Stevens. Union's Class of 2027 has accumulated 71 wins as a group, a winning percentage over .600, and has already gone on two winning streaks of at least seven matches this season. This group of seniors has also appeared in the Liberty League tournament twice so far, including a trip to the semifinals last season as the No. 2 seed in the conference.

The Garnet Chargers had three separate rallies of at least four points in the first set, including a six-point run to pull ahead 6-3. Stevens had her first of 10 kills in that initial rally, and junior Kayla Martinez Cartagena recorded a service ace. 

The Dolphins made 24 attack errors, two set errors, 10 service errors, and two reception errors as Union made them uncomfortable all match long. Union held UMSV under .100 for the match, tanked by a -0.121 percentage from the road team in the second. McCarron and Stevens had the only blocks in the second set, and Union put the Dolphins away with an 11-1 run at the end of frame. 

Escobar had three of her 10 kills in the third set, notching a single-match career high, and also had seven digs. She was one of four Garnet Chargers with at least seven digs, joined by Scanlon, Martinez Cartagena, and first-year Vanessa Morgan. The rookie led her squad with eight digs. Scanlon played the entirety of the match, dishing out 31 assists. 

The third set was back-and-forth until a four-point rally from Union put the home side up 22-18 and gave the Garnet Chargers enough momentum to put the Dolphins away. McCarron had three kills after an 18-18 tie and ended her Senior Day match with eight kills and only one error. She hit over .400 along with Stevens (.421) and Janker (.417). 

Hamilton 3, Union 1 (25-18, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21)
The Garnet Chargers hit under .200 for only the third time in the month of October, running into a sturdy Hamilton (9-8) defense. The Continentals recorded 75 digs and only had six reception errors on the serve. Ayslinn Trefren came up with 21 digs for the visitors to lead her team, and two of her teammates also recorded double-digit digs. She also hit .422 with 21 kills, had two aces, a block assist, and did not make a reception error on 42 chances. 

In the face of Trefren's heroic performance, Union battled Hamilton tough and scored at least 20 points in three of the four sets. 

Union led 14-13 in the first set, but Hamilton bounced back with a seven-point rally to take control and eventually hand Union its first set loss in over two weeks. 

After falling in a tightly contested second, Union was able to steal the third set thanks to six total blocks. First-year Johanna Melhorn had four block assists in the third and was one of six Garnet Chargers to get in on at least one block. Martinez Cartagena also hit .500 with five kills, and junior Allie Kronenberg and Escobar kept Union afloat with four digs each. 

The Garnet Chargers were on the verge of forcing a tiebreaker set, tying things up 21-21 in the fourth after a pair of errors from Hamilton. However, the Continentals righted the ship with three kills and a block to put Union away for good 25-21 and 3-1 overall. 

Union returns to Liberty League action with a crucial matchup with Vassar at home on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. The winner of Wednesday's match will be in the driver's seat for the third seed in the conference tournament.