Delhi, NY – The FMCC Raiders opened their women's volleyball season with a well-played, hard-fought win at SUNY Delhi. It was a beautiful day for volleyball on the Delhi hilltop. Hints of autumn were in the air as the two teams stepped onto the Clark Fieldhouse court.
The match was the season opener for both clubs. Delhi had a substantial height advantage with seven players at 5' 8" or over. FM has three players in that range; the other Raiders average 5' 2.4".
FM led in each of the four sets, but, in the first set, the home-standing Broncos came back from a 7-4 deficit to edge the visiting Raiders 25-18. First-year Head Coach Rachael Salvione's troops then rallied and proved to be the stronger side over the final three sets.
Photo: FM's Whitney Ostrander fires a hard shot into the Broncos court
The second set saw FM take an 18-11 lead, but the Broncos never gave up. The Delhi Six started playing with more focus and closed FM's lead to 19-18. A critical kill by freshman Whitney Ostrander (Mayfield, NY) put the Raiders up 20-18, and the visitors went on to down Delhi 25-22.
Photo: Defensive specialist Caitlyn Hayward powers a shot
The tension built even more in the final two sets. Both of those sets required extra play, and FM won them both with identical scores of 26-24.
The third set saw FM jump out to a 7-1 lead, wining four straight points while freshman Taylor Wetsky (Fonda, NY) was serving. The Broncos came back, but a kill by Emily Robinson (Northville, NY) made it 8-4. Later, Robinson's long scoring shot from deep center court gave FM a 15-8 lead, and things were looking good for the visitors. But Delhi charged back again and knotted the affair at 24-all. Good team play by the Raiders forced two mistakes by the Broncos, and FM won the set, taking a 2-1 lead in the match.
The substantial crowd was treated to more fine volleyball in the match-ending set. This time neither team took much of a lead until near the end. The set was tied at 7-7 and 10-10. At 12-10, Gabrielle Hale (Johnstown, NY) scored with a deft placement shot. At 15-all, Robinson made a great save, and sophomore Sarah Wyzomirski (Fonda, NY) killed the ball, giving FM a one-point lead.
FM pulled ahead to 24-19, but the home side proved their worth once again. The Broncos tied the set at 24-24, but the solid FM defense prevented Delhi from scoring any more points. The final Bronco shot went wide, and the Raiders won the set 26-24 and the match 3-1.
Ostrander had 11 kills and 3 blocks. Co-Captains Wyzomirski and Robinson each had 4 kills and 2 blocks. Shelbey Lyons (Johnstown, NY) contributed 24 assists. Caitlin Hayward added 12 digs and 3 aces. Hale had 10 digs.
Photo: Coach Salvione and the Raiders huddle during a timeout late in the match
Stated Coach Salvione, "This was a huge win for us, with it being our season opener. We learned how to trust each other and really came together as a team. I couldn't be more proud of these girls."
The Raiders' next match will be at SUNY Adirondack next Wednesday, September 11, at 6:00 p.m.
Click here for a video of some FM great saves.
Click here for a video of a Whitney kill.
Click here for a video of the match point. (The scoreboard shows FM as the home team for this set.)
Set scores: Delhi 25-18, FM 25-22, FM 26-24, FM 26-24
Records: FM 1-0, Delhi 0-1
C.J. Bonny, website writer
