Score: Elmira College 3, Plattsburgh State 1 [26-24, 25-10, 23-25, 25-16]
Score: Oneonta State 3, Elmira College 0 [25-16, 25-14, 26-24]
Records: Elmira (18-13), Plattsburgh (7-21), Oneonta (18-13)
Location: Dewar Arena – Oneonta, NY

Oneonta, NY -- The Elmira College women's volleyball team split the second day of the Dig Pink Invitational, hosted by SUNY Oneonta, on Saturday at the Dewar Arena to end the 2015 regular season.

The Soaring Eagles began the day by defeating the Plattsburgh State Cardinals, 3-1, thanks to an impressive offensive performance. In the nightcap, however, the Purple and Gold lost in straight sets to the host Red Dragons.

Led by Ashley Heiman '16, Natalie Schieder '19 and Kelsey Ross '16, the EC offense pieced together an efficient outing to handle the Cardinals in four sets. Heiman finished one kill shy of her season high with 16 while hitting at a rate of .333. Schieder and Ross followed with 14 and 11 kills, respectively, and both recorded double-digit digs to earn double-doubles.

Paola Ortiz '16 aided the cause with eight kills, three aces and a solo block. The setting duo of Taylor Kaznowski '19 and Sami Hanes '16 combined for 51 assists. Kasey Campbell '19 and Kierstin Derr '16 provided defensive support with 11 digs each.

Despite a solid .255 team hitting percentage in the first match of the day, the Soaring Eagles slumped against the Red Dragons, managing a negative percentage for only the second time this season (-.039). EC committed 28 attacking errors, the most in a straight-sets loss this season. Ortiz was the lone bright spot for the Purple and Gold against Oneonta; the San Juan, Puerto Rico, native collected 10 kills, her first double-digit kill performance since recording 11 against SUNY Canton on October 16th.

Turning Point (Plattsburgh)
The Soaring Eagles pulled out a tight 26-24 set victory to open the match against the Cardinals. Leading 1-0, the offense went to work, compiling an outstanding .462 hitting percentage in the second set. That offensive outburst showed up again in the decisive fourth set, as EC hit .333 and committed only one attacking error to close the match.

Turning Point (Oneonta)
Elmira dug itself an early hole in the first set with a team hitting percentage of -.143, resulting in a 25-16 victory for the Red Dragons. The Soaring Eagles couldn't recover from that slow start in time, as Oneonta cruised to a 25-14 win in the second set to take an insurmountable lead.

Inside the Box (Plattsburgh)

• Elmira hit at a .255 clip as a team, including a .462 rate in the second set.
• Heiman led EC with 16 kills.
• Schieder recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs.
• Ross matched the feat with 11 kills and a match-high 18 digs.
• Kaznowski finished with a match-high 31 assists.

Inside the Box (Oneonta)

• Elmira committed 28 attacking errors but only 26 kills.
• Ortiz led all players with 10 kills in the match.
• Hanes equaled Oneonta's Karly Greco with a match-high 14 assists.
• Derr and Schieder each collected 10 digs to pace the Soaring Eagles.

News and Notes

• Ortiz was named to the Dig Pink Invitational All-Tournament Team.
• Elmira finished the 2015 regular season with an 18-13 record, an 11-win improvement from last year.
• Schieder's double-double vs. Plattsburgh was her 12th of the season, Ross now has three in 2015.
• EC has hit above .200 on 12 occasions in 2015, and is 11-1 in those matches; on the contrary, it is only 7-12 in matches with a sub-.200 hitting percentage.

Up Next
With the 2015 regular season in the books, the Elmira College women's volleyball team has its sights set on the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. The fourth-seeded Soaring Eagles will travel to Hoboken, NJ, on Friday, November 6th to take on top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology at 12:00 p.m. in the opening round.