The St. Lawrence University volleyball team went 2-0 on Saturday at the first day of the Upstate Regional Challenge in Nazareth, NY.

The Saints defeated the University of Rochester 3-2 (14-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-20, 15-10) in the first game of the day and later swept host Nazareth College 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-18), avenging a 3-1 loss to the Golden Flyers earlier in the season.

St. Lawrence improves to 21-9.

"We had our best day of the season today," said Coach Shelly Roiger. "With the exception of the first set of the day, we played very composed, aggressive, and smart. We were very balanced offensively in both matches which I believe is a big strength of ours and our defense was very good throughout the day."

In the first game, a strong front line helped spark the Saints, who were led by co-captains Abby Rose and Nyasha Miller. Rose recorded 33 assists, nine kills and three service aces, while Miller contributed 10 kills and 21 digs.

Leading the Saints defensive effort was first-year student Katie Prue who had 19 digs and errorless serving with 3 aces. Sophomore Kayla Twardzik added 13 digs.

In the second game of the day, the Saints defeated a Nazareth team that beat them at the beginning of the season on September 4th. Rose again led the Saints with 29 assists, 14 digs and two service aces. Senior Jordyn Buzza hit .250 with no errors, recording six kills and 11 digs for the defense. Miller added 15 digs.

Senior Lauren Drozynski and junior Liz Grogan also had a strong offensive outing. Drozynski hit .356 with seven kills, while Grogan added 10 kills.

"I'm proud of our limited service errors as well as our increased focus, which obviously paid off. We will need to bring those things and more to our matches tomorrow against two very good opponents."

The Saints will look to continue their three-game winning streak tomorrow as they take on RIT, a team they have already split with this season, and New York University in the afternoon. The games are scheduled to begin at 11:00am and 1:00pm at Nazareth College.