UTICA, N.Y. – Women's volleyball put down Utica in three (25-17, 25-19, 25-22) on Saturday afternoon to remain undefeated in conference play.
 
The Golden Flyers now have an overall record of 14-8 and a conference record of 9-0.
 
The first set was evenly matched to begin, neither team holding a lead of more than three until late in the set when Nazareth took a 19-15 lead. After a Utica kill, the Golden Flyers went on a four-point run to increase the gap to 23-16. Two of those points were aces from Zoe Tylipakis, while one was a kill from Ruth Jackson (from Grover). After allowing Utica one more kill, Nazareth closed out the set 25-17 with an error from Utica and an ace from Hailey Trank.
 
The second set was much different, as Nazareth controlled from the get-go, jumping ouit to an early 8-1 lead. Utica was able to fight back and close the gap to 3, but at a score of 15-12, Nazareth strung together six points to really command the lead. Two of those points came from Leah Fusilli kills (from Kules), and two more came from aces from Ella Kules. The Pioneers tried to fight back, but were unsuccessful, and Nazareth took the set 25-19.
 
The third and final set was back and forth, each team stringing together multiple runs to stay in the game. At a deficit of 20-15, the Golden Flyers went on a seven-point run to regain the lead late in the set. Within this run, there were kills by Alana Lucey and Fusilli, as well as two aces from Jenna Mattison. After exchanging one point at a time, Nazareth finally took the set at a score of 25-22 to end the game in three.
 
Tessa Grover led the team in kills with 14, followed by Fusilli with seven, and Jackson with five. Ella Kules once again led the assist efforts with 18. Grover added ten herself, while teammate Mattison had four. Mattison led the defense with 19 digs, while Tylipakis and Fusilli each added 12.
 
The Golden Flyers will host Houghton on October 29^th at 7 p.m. for their second-to-last conference game before playoffs.