SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University volleyball team earned an impressive 3-0 (25-18, 29-27, 25-19) sweep over D'Youville University Tuesday in non-conference competition at Morrow Field House.
The win improves The Rock's record in 2026 to 6-13 overall, while the visiting Saints drop to 10-10 on the campaign. Tuesday marked one of the top all-around performances by SRU this season.
Offensively, The Rock recorded a season-best .327 attack percentage in addition to registering seven aces, their third highest total of the year. Conversely, Slippery Rock's defense limited DYU to a .178 attack percentage, which was the sixth lowest opponent mark of the year, thanks in no small part to eight total blocks.
Senior
Victoria Nalbach provided The Rock with a stellar performance that included seven kills on a near flawless .500 attack percentage paired with four blocks (2 solo / 2 assisted). The four rejections served as Nalbach's third highest block total in 2026.
A pair of freshmen spearheaded Slippery Rock's attack efforts.
Ali Haynes turned in a team-high nine kills alongside three blocks (2 solo / 1 assisted), while
Erica Brouse gave The Rock a personal-best eight kills. Much like Nalbach, Haynes and Brouse were remarkably efficient via respective .400 and .381 attack percentages.
Rounding out Slippery Rock's kill leaders were
Gwen McCarthy (7),
Hayden Deming (4),
Kaitlyn Danszczak (3) and
Chloe Shirk (3). Deming also compiled two blocks (1 solo / 1 assisted). Setters
Emily Loeffler and
Paityn Krause both finished with 16 assists.
Leah Schreckengost led five Rock athletes with at least one ace Tuesday. The sophomore tallied her fifth multi-ace match of the year with three against the Saints. Danszczak, Loeffler, Krause and
Ellie Friedrichs had one ace apiece as well.
Libero
Kara Pasquale chipped in a Rock-best 13 digs.
Slippery Rock claimed five of the first six points in the opening set en route to a wire-to-wire 25-18 victory. Brouse was crucial for SRU in the first set, recording six of her kills on the night in the opener.
The Rock and Saints traded points to start the second set, but a quick 7-3 run gave D'Youville a 14-10 lead it held for much of the set. DYU played its way into a set-point situation three times at 24-23, 25-24 and 26-25, but Slippery Rock battled its way out of the jams to pull even with the Saints at 27-27 before taking advantage of a pair of attack errors in a 29-27 triumph.
The third set was reminiscent of the first. Slippery Rock grabbed an early 6-2 lead it never relinquished. The decisive moment of the set came in the form of a 6-1 spurt that allowed The Rock to open 21-13 advantage on the way to a match-clinching 25-19 showing.
SRU concluded the contest holding advantages over the Saints in attack percentage (.327 / .178) and total blocks (8-7). Both teams had 41 kills. D'Youville edged The Rock in aces (8-7) and digs (50-42). McCarthy had four kills in the final set and the duo of Nalbach and Haynes came up with two blocks each.
Cameron Ulinski led D'Youville with nine kills, four aces and one block.
Slippery Rock returns to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division competition 6 p.m. Friday at Clarion.
To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official Athletic Communication accounts on 'X' (formerly Twitter, @Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).
