Elmira Women’s Volleyball Tops Cortland in Five Sets
Cortland, NY -- Sasha Zavadska ’13 (Bratislava, SVK -- The British School) and Chelsea Needham ’11 (Middletown, NY -- Middletown) recorded 21 and 20 kills, respectively, as the Elmira Women’s Volleyball team outlasted Cortland, 3-2, in a five-set non-conference dual match. Set scores, from Elmira’s perspective, were 21-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21 and 15-11. Elmira College’s overall record now stands at 15-5 this season.
Needham added four aces to her 20-kill performance for the Soaring Eagles (15-5). Brittany Raykoske ’12 (Johnstown, NY -- Gloversville) contributed 14 kills and three blocks to the winning cause, and Tesia Kaczynski ’11 (Mansfield, PA -- Mansfield) had 51 assists and first year player Alysha LaDuke ’14 (Livonia, NY -- Livonia) amassed 12 digs.
The key sequence in Cortland’s first-set win came when the Red Dragons scored four straight points to turn a 17-14 deficit into an 18-17 lead. Down 22-19, Elmira got back to within one on kills by Needham and Raykoske, but the Red Dragons scored the last three points on a service error and kills by Kristen Guercio ’13 and Ashley Coyle ’12.
Cortland led 9-5 in the second set before the Soaring Eagles rattled off nine straight points, including two Kaczynski aces and two kills each by Taryn Rumsey ’14 (Mansfield, PA -- Mansfield) and Zavadska. Cortland never caught Elmira in the set, but was within 23-22 after a Kaitlyn Cooper ’12 kill. Zavadska responded with a kill for Elmira, but another Cooper kill kept Cortland within 24-23. Rumsey’s kill finished the set.
Elmira led 13-7 in the third, but Cortland clawed back and eventually used a 4-0 run, with two Coyle kills, to tie the set at 18-18. With the set tied at 23-23, Cortland tallied the final point on a Coyle ace to win 25-23.
The teams were tied 14 times in the fourth set, including 12 deadlocks leading to an early 13-13 tie. Cortland trailed 17-14 after an Abbie Martin ’14 (Broadalbin, NY -- Broadalbin-Perth) kill for Elmira, but Coyle recorded four straight kills, and Cortland led 19-17. Elmira, however, scored the next five points – two on Raykoske kills and one on a Needham kill – and retook the lead at 22-19. Coyle put down the next two kills to cut Elmira’s lead to 22-21, but the Soaring Eagles finished the set with kills by Needham, Raykoske and Zavadska.
Elmira scored seven straight points in the fifth set to turn a 6-6 tie into a 13-6 advantage. Zavadska had two kills and an ace and Needham added two kills during the decisive run. Cortland fought back with four straight points to close within 13-10, but an error gave Elmira match point. Coyle’s kill briefly kept Cortland alive, but Needham’s kill finished the match.