Houghton, NY – The Alfred State volleyball team claimed a victory against the Houghton Highlanders with a sweep, 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 27-25). After the victory, Alfred moves to 11-10 overall.

Leading the way for the Pioneers, Alayna Tomlinson registered 16 kills and seven digs. Gloria Stem followed with 12 kills and five digs. Gabriella Thurmond orchestrated the offense well with 32 total assists. Ava Wickes delivered 10 digs and three aces.

The Pioneers kicked off the match strong with a dominant first set. After jumping out to an early 4-1 advantage, Alfred pushed the score up further with one kill each from Alli Hillyard and Stem, along with a service ace from Tomlinson. Tomlinson and Stem continued to dominate the set as the Pioneers kept a good margin throughout, winning it 25-15.

In the second set, the Pioneers saw themselves on the back-foot early into the action as they had a 9-4 deficit to shorten. However, they slowly began to pick up the pace when Tomlinson laid down two kills to capitalize off some errors from Houghton, 11-8. From there, the Highlanders tacked on three more. Alfred answered back with a 6-0 run to tie the game and take the lead, 15-14. Stem contributed to the run with three kills. Despite the Highlanders' efforts to even up the set, Erin Gregoire and Carmen Crowley rallied for the Pioneers to take the set 25-20.

The final set was a close contest as both sides battled back-and-forth throughout. Houghton struck first, but Alfred answered back with a kill from Tomlinson and Stem. Shortly after, the Pioneers were once again on the back-foot, seeing a 10-5 gap to chip away. Thurmond kicked off what would be a 5-0 run for Alfred with a kill. Stem then followed a Houghton error with a service ace. Gregoire and Tomlinson laid down a kill each to close off the run.

Both sides continued trading the lead all the way until the final points of the set, forcing a deuce. With the score locked at 25-25, Houghton registered an error that put the Pioneers up one. Stem then delivered the game winning kill to close off the set 27-25, giving Alfred the victory sweep.

The Pioneers will return home this Saturday on October 25^th , for their Tri-Match against the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and Oneonta. First serve is set for 11am.