Kristin Kirwan	Kindler Norman	Regina Schetroma
Catherine Manning	Shannon Savitsky	Kate Calabro

SCRANTON, Pa. - The University of Scranton volleyball team continued their winning ways inside the John Long Center for 2017 on Friday night, as the Royals knocked off Hartwick in three sets and Manhattanville in four sets in non-conference action.

With the victories, the Royals improved to 26-2 on the year and 14-0 in matches inside the John Long Center for the season. Winners of 14 of their last 15, the 26 season victories for Scranton is already the most for a Royals team since 2006, when Scranton finished the season with a 27-8 overall mark.

Also, before the Manhattanville match, the Royals program honored the five seniors on their 2017 roster: Erica Byrne (Whitestone, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy), Catherine Manning (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester), Morgan Rentzheimer (Allentown, Pa./Parkland), Shannon Savitsky (Centerreach, N.Y./St. Anthony's), and Kristen Sweeney (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown).

Scranton 3, Hartwick 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-16) | Box Score
In their opening match of the day, Scranton rolled past visiting Hartwick to notch their 16th three-set victory of the year. It was also Scranton's seventh straight three-set win inside the John Long Center.

In the victory, junior Kristin Kirwan (Park Ridge, N.J./Immaculate Heart Academy) led the attack with 11 kills, while Savitsky came off the bench and had seven kills. Sweeney ended the first match with six kills, four service aces, and five digs, while sophomore Victoria Capogna (Farmingdale, N.Y./St. Anthony's) also had six kills.

Meanwhile, freshman setter Kindler Norman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) had an even 30 assists teeing up the Royals attack in the win, while fellow freshman Regina Schetroma (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) led the defense with 16 digs, marking the third straight match she's posted exactly 16 digs for Scranton.

Scranton 3, Manhattanville 1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-18, 25-15) | Box Score
In the Manhattanville match, the Royals had their sets won streak end at 22, but Scranton bounced back from a second game defeat to roll past the visiting Valiants to notch their 26th win of the year and 14th inside the John Long Center.

After coasting to a seven-point win in the first set of the match, Manhattanville jumped out to an insurmountable 18-10 lead in the middle of the game, and never looked back as the Royals dropped their first set in the Long Center since losing the opening game against John Jay on Sept. 22.

But, the Royals found their footing back in the third and fourth sets, rolling to victories in each. In the third set, Scranton opened up a 19-9 lead on their way to a seven-point win, while the fourth game saw the Royals go up 14-4 early and never look back in a 10-point match-clinching win.

Overall in the Manhattanville win, Manning led the Royals attack, finishing with 12 kills, a season-best for the senior. Manning also hit .435 in the win, as well.

Meanwhile, Kirwan ended a strong night on the attack with 11 more kills against Manhattanville. The junior now has an even 1,200 kills for her career at Scranton, as she sits just 13 kills away from tying for fifth all-time in program history in the category.

Other notables in the win include sophomore Kate Calabro (Seaford, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) came into the match in the last two sets and notched seven kills, as Norman went into the 30s yet again in assists with 38. Norman also ended the night with 18 digs, while Schetroma led the defense with 22 digs.

The University of Scranton volleyball team returns to action on Saturday, as they travel to Moravian for their second day of Landmark Conference matches for the year. First, at 11 a.m., Scranton will take on the host Greyhounds, followed by a 1:30 p.m. tilt with Elizabethtown.

--ROYALS--