YORK, Pa. – The York College volleyball team fell to the St. Mary's College Seahawks 3-0 on Senior Night on Wednesday in Wolf Gym.

The loss drops the Spartans' record to 12-17 overall and 3-5 in conference play while the win improves the Seahawks record to 15-10 overall and 5-3 in conference play.

The first set was a back and forth affair. Leading 5-4, the Spartans used a 12-3 run to take a 17-7 lead. After both team won two points each to make it 19-9, the Seahawks went on a 14-4 run which also included an 8-0 run to tie the set at 23-23. After the Spartans won two of the next three points to take a 25-24 lead, the Seahawks closed out the set on a 4-1 run to win the set 28-26.

The Seahawks seemed to play with a slow but sure approach in the second set. They were able to put together a 5-1 run to take a 6-3 lead and another 5-1 run after three Spartan points to make it an 11-7 lead. The Spartans went on a 5-1 run of their own to tie the set 12-12 which was quickly followed by a 4-1 Seahawk run. Both teams would then split the next 14 rallies as the Seahawks clung to a 23-20 lead but would go on to win two of the final three points to take the set 25-21.

The Spartans fought hard in the third set but they just could not match the intensity of the Seahawks.  Trailing 13-10, the Seahawks went on a 13-4 run to take a 23-17 lead and effectively end the set and match. The Seahawks took the third set 25-19.

The Seahawks had a very balanced attack on offense. Mandy Goodspeed led the team with 13 kills and a .346 attack percentage. Autumn Fisher and Alli Graf each contributed nine kills while Graf led the way on defense with 14 digs. Mimi Graf led the team in assists for the night with 25 and also had 10 digs on defense.

As a team, the Seahawks finished with 45 kills on a .228 attack percentage, two service aces, and 63 digs.

The Spartans were led on offense by sophomore Kelly Cavey (Hampstead, Md. / Hereford) and senior Alison Dorsey (Elkridge, Md. / Long Reach). Cavey finished with a team-high 13 kills on a .407 attack percentage and three service aces while Dorsey finished with 10 kills on a .318 attack percentage. Sarah Wukitch (East Greenville, Pa. / Southern Lehigh) collected all 37 team assists for night and senior Katherine Graziano (Elkridge, Md. / Archbishop Spalding) led the team with 21 digs on defense.

The Spartans finished the match with 39 kills on a .168 attack percentage with five service aces and 53 digs.

Prior to the match the Spartans recognized their three seniors as Graziano, Dorsey, and Lindsay Jackson (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen Central) for their contributions to the program.

The Spartans return to action on Saturday for their regular season finale in a tri-match against Salisbury University and Lycoming College in York. The match against Salisbury is scheduled to start at 1:00 pm while the match against Lycoming is scheduled for 5:00 pm.

Written by Will Wallace – Athletic Communications Student-Assistant

Senior Photo courtesy of Joe Rodgers