ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's volleyball team is set to host the University of Rochester in the 2016 regular-season home finale at Speidel Gymnasium Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. The Soaring Eagles will also honor their two seniors in a special ceremony as part of Class of 2017 Recognition Night.
LAST TIME OUT: The Soaring Eagles split an Empire 8 Conference Crossover, hosted by Nazareth College, on Saturday October 22nd. In the first match, Elmira lost to the Golden Flyers, 3-0. Losing in straight-sets, however, would not deter the Soaring Eagles, as they would go on to best Hartwick College in convincing fashion, 3-0. The Purple and Gold rallied from behind in the first two sets to earn the straight-set victory.
Natalie Schieder '19 paced the Soaring Eagle offense again, finishing with her 10th double-double of the season with 10 kills and 18 digs.
Taylor Kaznowski '19 also recorded a strong performance, posting 24 assists and 13 digs in the contest. On the defensive side of the court,
Kasey Campbell '19 posted a career-best 23 digs.
CAMPBELL'S IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE: Campbell's 23 digs against Hartwick are the third-most by a Soaring Eagle this season and a career-high for the second-year libero. In her first season as a starter, the Honeoye, New York, native has posted nine matches with double-digit digs and enters today's match ranking second on the team with 2.64 digs per set.
SCHIEDER LEADS E8: Schieder continues her reign atop the Empire 8 in kills per set (4.05). In fact, the second-year outside-hitter is the only player in the conference that averages more than 4.00 kills per set. The Alden, New York, native built this lead on her current streak of seven straight matches with double-digit kills.
SCOUTING THE YELLOWJACKETS: Rochester enters today's match on a recent downturn, as the Yellowjackets have lost three out of their last four contests, all of which were on the road. Rochester's record sits at 19-9 after its recent troubles. The last of that four-match stretch was a Yellowjacket victory over Nazareth on their home court in the Louis Alexander Palestra Gymnasium. The strength of the Rochester offense is its service game, as sophomore defensive specialist Courtney Vidovich and senior setter Aimee Kohler each have over 40 aces on the season; Vidovich has 47 and Kohler has 43, to sit one-two on the University Athletic Association (UAA) leaderboard. Kohler also paces the team in assists with 832, which ranks fourth in the UAA.
SERIES HISTORY: Today's matchup marks the 11th meeting between the two programs, with the Yellowjackets holding the all-time lead in the series, 8-2. The Yellowjackets won last season's contest in thrilling five-set fashion. The programs alternated sets for the entire match, with Rochester winning the first, third and fifth sets. Schieder finished with a strong showing in the contest, earning a double-double with 19 digs and 14 kills. Elmira's last win in the series came in November of 1997.
UP NEXT: The Soaring Eagles will conclude the regular season at the Dig Pink Invitational, hosted by SUNY Oneonta, on Friday and Saturday, October 28th and 29th. The Soaring Eagles will start off the tournament against the host Red Dragons on Friday at 4:00 p.m.
