Elmira Volleyball Wins Pair of Five Set Thrillers
New York, NY – The Elmira College Women’s Volleyball team had an impressive second day of the Hunter Tournament as they disposed of Empire 8 conference rival Ithaca in five sets (25-14, 16-25, 25-13, 24-26, 15-7) and a talented Ramapo squad in five sets (25-14, 21-25, 27-25, 26-28, 15-12). The two wins complete an impressive 3-1 weekend for Elmira, with their only loss coming to nationally-ranked Cortland. EC now stands at 24-7 overall.
In the first match of the day Elmira got off to a great start leading Ithaca two games to 1, winning those games by a combined 23 points. The Bombers fought back in set four (26-24) to force a fifth set, in which the Purple and Gold outlasted Ithaca 15-7. Brittany Raykoske ’12 (Johnstown, NY – Gloversville) finished with a team-high 17 kills, while Sasha Zavadska ’13 (Bratislava, SVK – The British School) nailed 14 kills along with compiling 18 digs. Catherine Miller ’14 (Pittsburg, PA – Penn Hills) recorded a team-high 22 digs, while Molly short tallied 12 digs and 48 assists. Francene Cicia ’13 (Sunderland, MA – Frontier Regional) contributed 15 digs for Elmira.
In the second match of the day EC got off to another good start thanks to a cluth 27-25 win in set number three. However, Ramapo proved tough battling back to take set four, 28-26. The Soaring Eagles once again proved their mental toughness down the stretch as they fought past Ramapo 15-12 to take the match. Zavadska and Raykoske combined for an astonishing 41 kills in the match, while Zavadska also tallied an equally remarkable 22 digs. Raykoske added five blocks and four service aces, while Taryn Rumsey ’14 (Mansfield, PA – Mansfield) tallied 14 kills and 12 digs. Miller tallied 19 digs, while Short dished out 63 assists, giving her an unbelievable 111 digs in two matches today.
Elmira returns to action Saturday, Nov. 5th when they play St. John Fisher at 1:00 p.m. Stevens and Nazareth will square off at 3:30 p.m. with the two winners advancing to play each other for the Empire 8 Championship Sunday, Nov. 6th at 1:00 p.m.