University of Rochester women's volleyball won its fifth-straight match and 11th-straight set, defeating the Oswego State Lakers, 3-0, on Senior Night on Friday evening inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.
Though the Lakers would score three of the first four points of the opening set, Rochester would take a commanding lead early, with five straight points coming off Areti Tsirikaki's service. The junior connected on two services aces and Ashley Cook and Ruby Moore hit kills to give the 'Jackets a 7-3 lead, before another run, this time coming on Moore's serve, made it 15-4.
Moore served seven times before Oswego State could break her serve, extending the Yellowjackets lead with an 8-0 run, capped off by two Myla Nover-Estes kills and another ace, this one from Moore.
Down 11, the Lakers would pull within single digits, 16-8, taking advantage of a couple of UR errors, but Tsirikaki's kill from Katie Westerheim slowed Oswego's roll before four more from the Lakers forced Rochester to use its first timeout.
Oswego would come as close as five, 19-14 before a service error gave Rochester the serve back, and up 21-15 following a kill from Georgia Farry, the 'Jackets won the serve back and didn't relinquish another point, finishing off the opening set with an ace and two Oswego errors to take it, 25-15.
Set two would prove to be much closer, with the Lakers holding an early 6-4 advantage before three-straight points from UR gave the 'Jackets a 7-6 lead.
A service error and ace would make it a 9-7 UR lead, but Oswego State answered to knot the score up at 10-all. And though the Yellowjackets used a 4-0 run to pull ahead, 16-11, on Bri Jones' kill, the Lakers this time had an answer, pulling within two on Cara Simplicio's ace.
Three-straight Oswego errors though, helped the 'Jackets extend their lead back to five before Cook came up with another kill to make it 20-16 after a short Laker run.
Nover-Estes then brought up set point, smashing an ace while Sonia McGaffigan tallied a block and Cook hit another kill to make it 24-16 UR. And while the Lakers held off set point three times, a service error finished off the set, 25-19, for Rochester to give the Yellowjackets a 2-0 match lead.
The 'Jackets then raced out to an 8-1 lead in the third, forcing the Lakers to use their first timeout after two Tsirikaki aces sandwiched another Cook kill.
Oswego would keep things close, preventing the Yellowjackets from pulling away much further and cutting the deficit down to two, 15-13, with a 6-2 run to force Rochester to take a timeout.
A block by Julia Chotiner and McGaffigan out of the timeout though stifled Oswego's run, and then three-straight points with Rochester up 18-16 gave UR a 21-16 lead on another block, this one from Jones and Nover-Estes.
Oswego State twice pulled within four over the final stretch, but Cook's kill again brought up match point, before an attack error gave Rochester the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-0.
Rochester moves to 18-8 with the win, its fifth-straight and its 18th-straight non-conference win, while Oswego State falls to 6-16 with the loss.
Individually, Cook led the 'Jackets with 13 kills, while McKenzie McDonald and Katie Westerheim tallied 15 and 10 assists apiece. Tsirikaki notched a game-high seven aces, with Moore adding three, while defensively, Tsirikaki, Lydia Weeks and La'i Yuen each scored eight digs.
As a team, Rochester outhit the Lakers, .227 to .071, tallying 35 kills to just 18 for Oswego.