Women's Volleyball | 3/15/2021 10:11:00 PM
The Elmira College women's volleyball team won a seesaw battle in the 2021 Empire 8 Conference opener on Monday, as the Soaring Eagles defeated Nazareth College in four sets at Speidel Gymnasium.
With the victory, the Soaring Eagles (1-0, 1-0 E8) snapped an 11-match losing streak against the Golden Flyers, one that dated back to November of 2011. EC's last win over Naz came in straight sets at home on September 24, 2011.
Competing for the first time in 493 days, the Purple and Gold showed the occasional sign of rust. However, as the match wore on, the Soaring Eagles hit their stride. Offensively, for example, Elmira rebounded from a negative attack percentage in the first set and hit a match-best .345 with 12 kills and only two errors in the decisive fourth set. The fulcrum of Elmira's attack, senior setter Kassi Hastings '21, was one of several players who progressed throughout the night en route to a match-high 32 assists.
Whereas the Golden Flyers continually fed the ball two their two top hitters, Kaylee Kelly and McKenzie Hart, the Soaring Eagles had a much more balanced approach. Although no player logged double-digit kills, Lydia Milligan '21 on the outside and Savannah Terry '21 in the middle each recorded a team-leading nine kills, followed by Amelia Martin '23 and Lauren Smith '21 with eight apiece. Terry was one of three Soaring Eagles to post four total blocks, too, joining Hastings and Kaylene Sauschuck '22. As a team, EC outdid Nazareth in blocks, 8-to-1.
Down 10-8 in the first set, Elmira won 13 of the next 17 points to cruise ahead 21-14. Despite a later run by Naz to make it a two-point difference, 23-21, a serving error by the Golden Flyers and kill from Martin gave the Soaring Eagles the lead in the match, 1-0.
During the second set, the visitors produced their best attack percentage of the night at .310 with 15 kills, the most by either team in a set throughout the entire match. As a result, Naz jumped ahead 6-1, and later used a six-point run to grab an insurmountable lead at 15-7.
Momentum in the third set started on Elmira's side, thanks to a pair of aces from freshman libero Maddie Hampton. Up 9-2, however, Nazareth turned the tables, using four unanswered points to take regain the lead, 11-10. The Golden Flyers led by as many as five points, but a pivotal timeout called with EC trailing 18-13 proved successful, as Naz dropped six of the following eight points. Deadlocked at 24-all, Milligan knocked the ball off the hands of the opposing blockers and out of bounds, allowing Hastings to toss an ace to secure the set-winning point.
Elmira raced out of the break in the fourth set and never looked back. Martin sparked a critical 7-0 rally with three consecutive aces that turned a 4-4 tie into an 11-4 EC advantage. Nazareth never recovered from the looming deficit, and Terry spiked a free ball with a strong right-handed swing at the net for match point.
News and Notes
- Elmira won its season-opener for the first time since the 2018 season.
- The Soaring Eagles bested Naz in the battle between feathered foes for the first time in a decade.
- EC's 13 aces are the most in a single match since serving 13 against Wells on October 2, 2019, a span of 11 matches.
- Terry and Milligan finished with a team-high nine kills, followed by Martin and Smith with eight.
- Smith (17), Hampton (16), and Martin (10) each had double-digit digs.
- Hastings was responsible for 32 of Elmira's 37 assists.
- Hampton and Martin both tossed a match-high four aces.
- Hampton and fellow first-year Maddie Boucher '24 made their collegiate debuts against Naz.
Up Next
On Wednesday, March 24, Elmira will welcome another team from Rochester, New York, to the Southern Tier, as St. John Fisher College will make the trek to Speidel Gymnasium for an E8 tilt at 7:00 p.m.