Houghton Wins 3-1 Match over Alfred State
ALFRED, N.Y.-- The Highlander Volleyball team claimed the 3-1 victory over the Pioneers of Alfred State in tonight's match.
In the first set of the night, Houghton and Alfred battled one another-- forcing the "win by 2" rule. Unfortunately the Highlanders came up short, losing the set 24-26.
Little did the Pioneers know that the Highlanders would rise to the occasion, winning the following 3 sets by scores of 25-14, 25-23, and 25-18.
Erica Barney (Vestal, NY, Vestal) was credited with a double-double by having 12 kills and 12 digs. Three additional Highlanders--
Hattie Burgher (Selkirk, NY, Loudonville Christian),
Naomi Prentice (Linwood, NY, York Central), and
Meagan Palm (Lakeland, FL, Lakeland Christian), each earned 8 kills on the night. On the defensive-end, Burgher had 18 digs, followed by
Laurel Wroblicky (Irvine, CA, Northwood) with 13. Prentice and Palm came up big with blocks, crediting 9 total amongst the two. Lastly, setter
Anna Coryell (Phelps, NY, Midlakes) claimed 29 assists and 9 digs.
"It was a good team win against a good team," stated head coach Nancy Cole. "We really needed that going into the weekend," Cole continued.
Tonight's match was good preparation for the Highlanders' first-ever Empire 8 Conference postseason tournament.
As tournament's fourth seed, Houghton (17-12, 5-3 Empire 8) will take on top seed Stevens Tech (29-6, 8-0 Empire 8) on Friday at 3 p.m. in Hoboken, NJ. Second seed Nazareth (25-9, 7-1 Empire 8) and third seed Ithaca (23-10, 6-2 Empire 8) will face-off on Friday as well. The Highlanders hope to advance to the Empire 8 Championship on Saturday at 4 p.m.