CU Volleyball Preview - vs. RIT/at Ithaca (9/21-22)

Eleven matches in three tournaments have the Clarkson University Volleyball team prepared for the key matches of 2018, and the Liberty League schedule begins this weekend with a home match against RIT on Friday and an away tilt in Ithaca on Saturday.

Live Stats/Live Video – vs. RIT (6:00 pm/September 21/Alumni Gymnasium)
Live Stats/Live Video – at Ithaca (4:00 pm/September 22/Ithaca)

The Series vs. RIT: The Golden Knights trail in the all-time match up against RIT with 20 wins in 43 contests, but Clarkson has dominated since 2009, winning 18 straight. Clarkson won last year's match going away, losing the first set by two points but then cruising past the Tigers with scores of 25-16, 25-15, and 25-10.

The Series vs. Ithaca: The Golden Knights are 2-2 against the Bombers in the last three years, but have just six wins in 31 games since the inception of the series. Last year, Clarkson lost against Ithaca during the regular season, but pulled out a five-set victory over the Bombers in the Liberty League Championship match to win their sixth straight conference title.

Key Stats for Clarkson (7-4): Junior Kate Isaksen is seemingly getting better as the year goes on and now ranks second in Division III with 8.19 digs per set. In the Golden Knight Invitational on Sunday, Isaksen averaged better than 10 digs per set, coming within striking distance of her career-high in digs in each match (47 versus Susquehanna, 46 versus Brockport). The two figures she recorded on Sunday rank in the top five among all performances in 2018 thus far. Her performance helps Clarkson rank fourth in the nation in digs per set (21.67) and the Golden Knights are also 40th in blocks per set. Junior Rachel Reusch averages 1.05 blocks per set, but the most impressive part in her total of 45 blocks is 19 solo efforts, which is twice as many as any other player in the conference.

Key Stats for RIT (8-2): The Tigers are doing a good job of holding opposing offenses in check, limiting teams to a conference low 8.89 kills per set and just a .108 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, RIT is hitting at a .218 clip. Freshman Katie Hobler leads the team in kills per set at 2.92 but sophomore Taylor Higgins isn't far behind at 2.66 kills per set, and Higgins is also among the conference leaders in aces with 24. Senior setter Erin Parkinson ranks third in the conference with 9.44 assists per set.

Key Stats for Ithaca (5-5): The Bombers are sitting at just .500 through 10 matches, but three of their losses have come against the first, third, and 13th ranked teams in the country. Playing a more burdensome schedule has limited Ithaca's numbers, but the offense is still clicking along. Caitlyn Floyd ranks second in the conference in assists per set (9.84 aps), finding sophomore Reagan Stone (3.51 kills per set) and senior Katie Evans (2.24 kills per set) with regularity. Evans and Stone also rank first and second on the team in total blocks (22 and 21, respectively). Tara Stilwell leads the team defensively with 4.43 digs per set and also is the squad's top server with 0.38 aces per set.

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Players Mentioned

#17 Kate Isaksen: L; 5' 9"; Junior

#12 Rachel Reusch: MH; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#17 Kate Isaksen
: 5' 9"; Junior
: L

#12 Rachel Reusch
: 6' 2"; Junior
: MH

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

#17 Kate Isaksen

#12 Rachel Reusch

Players Mentioned

#17 Kate Isaksen

#12 Rachel Reusch