ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's volleyball team will travel to Rochester, New York, to face Nazareth College and Hartwick College in an Empire 8 Conference Crossover, hosted by the Golden Flyers, on Saturday, October 22nd. The first match against Nazareth is scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. and the second contest against the Hawks is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m.
Last Time Out: The Purple and Gold were swept in the Elmira College Quad-Match, on Saturday October 15th. In the first tilt, the Soaring Eagles lost to SUNY Cortland, 3-1. In the second match, Elmira lost a hard fought contest to Hunter College, 3-1. In the final game on Saturday, the Purple and Gold lost a thrilling five-set game to Lycoming College, 3-2. In the contest against the Warriors, the two programs went back and forth to alternate sets all the way through. In the fifth and final set, Lycoming won 16-14.
Natalie Schieder '19 almost single-handedly carried the Purple and Gold to victory. The sophomore outside hitter finished the tilt with 22 kills and 11 digs. Schieder's performance in the second game was preceded by her 11-kill 14-dig performance against Hawks.
Schieder Dominates: With back to back double-doubles on Saturday, Schieder extended her streak of five straight matches with a double-double, and she now has seven double-doubles in her last eight matches. During her current hot streak, the sophomore outside hitter has taken the lead in the conference in average kills per set (4.12), being the only player in the conference that averages over four kills per set.
Kaznowski Climbs the Record Books: With 71 assists in the two matches on Saturday,
Taylor Kaznowski '19 now has 495 in her sophomore campaign. The Hamburg, New York, native took sole possession of eighth place among Elmira's all-time assist leaders with 1,298 in her career.
Scouting the Golden Flyers: Nazareth has hit a rough patch of late, having lost two straight matches and three out of its last four. Even after this recent downturn, the Golden Flyers' record sits at 18-8 and its E8 record stands at 4-2. In their most recent matchup, Naz lost a five-set barnburner to the University of Rochester on October 19th. The Golden Flyers took the first two sets from the Yellowjackets but dropped the next three. The Golden Flyers' offensive attack is led by Cady Messmer and Maureen Thayer. An outside hitter, Messmer leads the team in kills 282, which is good for third in the conference and Thayer paces the team in assists with 862, which places her second in the E8. On the defensive side, libero Celia Cordero leads the team and is third in the conference in digs with 372.
Series History vs. Naz: Saturday's meeting will mark the 48th time that the programs will square off. Naz leads the all-time series 34-13. The Purple and Gold lost last September's matchup in straight sets. The last win in the series for the Soaring Eagles came in September of 2011, when EC easily handled the Golden Flyers at Speidel gymnasium to pick up the 3-0 victory.
Scouting the Hawks: Hartwick enters Saturday's contest struggling mightily, losing nine out of its last 10 matches. After all of their recent struggles, the Hawks' record stands at 6-15 and their Empire 8 records sits at 1-5. In their most recent game, the Hawks earned their first win in about three weeks, when they defeated SUNY Poly in five sets October 12th. Hartwick had to comeback from behind to beat the Wildcats, winning the first, fourth and fifth sets. Hannah Armstrong paces the Hawks offense with 254 kills, good for fifth in the conference. Libero Ashley Werner leads the Hartwick defense with a team-leading 231 digs.
Series History vs. Hartwick: The Purple and Gold have dominated the Hawks in the 38 times that the programs have met. Elmira holds a 36-2 lead in the all-time series. The Purple and Gold have beaten Hartwick 12 straight times, including last year's straight-set victory. Schieder led Elmira to victory, posting 10 kills in the match.
Up Next: The Purple and Gold will host the University of Rochester to Speidel Gymnasium for some non-conference action on Tuesday, October 25th. The match is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m.
