Tournament Schedule
Saturday, November 3
No. 4 Nazareth at No. 1 Elmira, Noon
No. 3 Ithaca vs. No. 2 Stevens, 2 p.m. or 60 minutes after completion of first match
Sunday, November 4
Championship, Noon
Tournament Program
Tickets will go on sale at 11:00 a.m. both days at Speidel Gymnasium. Cost is $5 for adults and $3 for students with ID. No complimentary tickets are available for postseason play.
|
Match |
Time/Result |
Box Score |
Webcast |
|
No. 4 Nazareth vs. No. 1 Elmira |
Naz 3-1
(25-22, 25-18, 16-25, 25-23) |
Box |
Semifinal #1 |
|
No. 3 Ithaca vs. No. 2 Stevens |
Stevens 3-0
(25-14, 25-20, 25-21) |
Box |
Semifinal #2 |
|
Championship |
Nazareth 3-2
(21-25, 18-25, 2523, 25-17, 15-10) |
Box |
Championship |
Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball All-Tournament Team
Maria Alloco – Nazareth, MVP
Amy Johnson – Nazareth
Aubrey Cooke – Nazareth
Maggie Kowalska – Stevens
Katie Hall – Stevens
Taryn Rumsey – Elmira
Marissa Weil – Ithaca
Nazareth Comes From Two Sets Down to Claim E8 Title
Elmira, NY – The Nazareth College Women’s Volleyball team came from two sets down to win its second consecutive Empire 8 Championship Sunday afternoon in Speidel Gymnasium. The four seed Golden Flyers downed second seeded Stevens Institute of Technology 3-2 (21-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-17, 15-10) to earn the automatic bid into the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Stevens came out hot in the first set taking an early 12-6 lead behind some impressive play at net and solid kills led by Maggie Kowalska. Nazareth called time out to try and slow the Ducks momentum. Stevens continued to hold a six-point advantage at 16-10. Nazareth used an 8-4 run to close the gap to 20-18 causing the Ducks to call time out. Out of the time out the Ducks responded scoring five of the final eight points to take the first set 25-21.
The second set was close early on but Nazareth turned a deficit into an early 10-7 lead behind the strong service game of freshman Jennifer Goodman who tallied two service aces in the run. The Ducks trailed 17-12 at one point but used a 13-1 run to storm back to take the second set 25-18.
Nazareth got off to a much better start in the third set leading 13-8 early. Stevens started to pick up its pace but the Golden Flyers still led by six points at 20-14 causing the Ducks to use another timeout. A 6-2 spurt by Stevens got them within 22-20 as Nazareth stopped play to talk things over. The Golden Flyers scored the next point to go up three but after a Kowalski kill, service ace and Nazareth ball-handling error it was tied at 23 all. Maria Allocco and Aubrey Coke combined for a block and a Stevens hitting error closed out the set for Nazareth 25-23.
The Golden Flyers carried their momentum over from their third set win to take a 15-9 lead in the fourth set. Naz continued to pressure the Ducks with solid serving, precision passing and accurate kills as they held a 20-12 advantage. The Golden Flyers successfully closed out the fourth set 25-17 as the 2012 Empire 8 Championship would be decided in a decisive fifth set.
Nazareth opened the fifth frame with back-to-back kills and held a five-point advantage at 10-5. Stevens responded scoring four of the last five points to close the Naz lead to 11-9, but the Golden Flyers notched four of the next five points to close out the match, 15-10.
