SYRACUSE, NY--The Finger Lakes women's volleyball team went 4-2 at the Cara Bryant Memorial Tournament hosted by Onondaga Community College. The Lakers lost in the semi-finals to Jefferson Community College to give them a third place finish.
The Lakers opened up the tournament on Friday with two wins against Herkimer County Community College (25-19, 24-26, 15-12) and SUNY Delhi (25-21, 25-18). Ryenn Smith recorded 24 kills on the night which gives her the Finger Lakes women's volleyball program record for kills in a season. She also contributed 9 digs in each of the two matches. Jessie Blumenfeld contributed a combined 35 assists on the night.
On Saturday, the Lakers opened with a three set loss to Jefferson Community College (21-25, 25-20, 12-15). Ryenn Smith and Courtney Bradish contributed 12 and 10 kills respectively. Smith led all defenders with 13 digs, and Jessie Blumenfeld and Mary Beth Schram had 10 digs a piece. Blumenfeld contributed 20 assists during the match.
The Lakers were able to turn things around with a win against Cayuga Community College (25-15, 25-14). Smith had 13 kills and 11 digs. Jessie Blumenfeld had another solid performance with 18 assists. Bradish chipped in 5 kills, 1 ace and 6 digs for the win. Bridget Whitehair rounded out the defensive performance for the Lakers with 8 digs.
During the quarterfinal round, the Lakers matched up against host Onondaga Community College. The Lakers won an exciting three set match (25-20, 22-25, 15-9) to advance them to the semi-final round. Smith had 16 kills and 8 digs, with Bradish contributing 6 kills and 10 digs. Blumenfeld had 21 assists, 1 ace and 11 digs. Morgan Carr, Bridget Whitehair and Mary Beth Schram each had 7 digs to help lead the Lakers to the win.
In the semi-final round, the Lakers found themselves matched up against Jefferson Community College for the second time during the tournament and for the fifth time this season. Both teams battled through the match and the Cannoneers prevailed (24-26, 25-18, 11-15). Smith had her best performance of the weekend with 23 kills. Jessie Blumenfeld was right behind her with 31 assists, 2 aces and 16 digs. Courtney Bradish rounded out the offense with 9 kills and Bridget Whitehair had a solid defensive showing with 11 digs. The loss put the Lakers tied for a third place tournament finish and an overall record of 4-2. Ryenn Smith was named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Lakers will host their final home match of the season this Wednesday, October 16th at 6 p.m. against Alfred State College.
