Troy, NY – The Russell Sage College Volleyball Team defeated SUNY Farmingdale in the Skyline Conference Championship game three games to zero.  The win gave Russell Sage College Athletics their first ever conference championship as well as the first trip to the NCAA Tournament.  The Gators took a commanding lead from the start defeating the rams 30-19 and never looked back.  The final two games saw Sage defeat Farmingdale 30-25 and 30-17. 

Leading the Gators was Tournament MVP Caitlyn Samoranski (Balston Spa) with 18 kills and twelve digs, with a hitting percentage of .529.  Freshman Nicole Corbett (Castleton) contributed ten kills and two blocks for Sage. 

Earlier in the day the number one seeded Gators’ defeated the number four seeded Mount Saint Mary College in the semifinals in three games; 30-14, 30-18, 30-19.  Corbett led Sage with ten kills, six blocks and four digs.  Setter Kaitlin Olmstead (Horseheads)  dished out 40 assists in each the semifinal and championship match to help guide Russell Sage to the Championship.

The second semifinal pitted number two seeded Polytechnic University against the number four seed SUNY Farmingdale.  After Polytechnic took the first game of the match, Farmingdale rallied to take the next three games to earn their spot in the Championship match. 

Russell Sage will face SUNY Cortland on Thursday in the Regional Quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament at Stevens Institute of Technology.