Score: St. John Fisher College 3, Elmira College 0 [27-25, 25-23, 25-13]
Score: Elmira College 3, Utica College 1 [25-19, 25-21, 27-29, 25-19]
Records: Elmira (12-9, 1-5 E8), Utica (5-16, 0-5 E8), St. John Fisher (17-5, 5-1 E8)
Location: Utica, N.Y. -- Clarke Athletic Center

UTICA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's volleyball team rebounded from a straight-set loss against St. John Fisher College by defeating the Pioneers of Utica College, 3-1, in the second match of Saturday's Empire 8 Conference Crossover in Utica, N.Y.

Although the Soaring Eagles were unable to steal a set from the second-place Cardinals, who improved to 5-1 inside E8 play with a pair of wins, EC would not go down without a strong fight in the first two sets. Down 23-18 in the opening set, the Purple and Gold won five consecutive points – the first two were registered on back-to-back Natalie Schieder '19 kills – to level the score at 23-all. Schieder then drew the score even at 24-all and a Fisher service error had both sides equal at 25-25. Alas, an Elmira error and an ace from St. John Fisher's Anna Marcy secured the set victory.

Schieder also guided the Soaring Eagles back in the second set, as the junior outside hitter floored three straight kills to tie the score at 20-20. The Cardinals regained a three-point lead, with two of the next three points coming off of aces by Amanda Miller. Another Schieder kill had Elmira within one, 23-22, but Marcy once again earned the set-deciding point, this time with one of her team-leading 17 kills.

Elmira may have produced a better attack percentage against the Cards, .139-to-.115, but in the nightcap against the host Pioneers the Soaring Eagles more than quadrupled their number of service aces, 14-to-3. Six of those aces were tossed up in the first set, including two in a row from Lauren Smith '21 that put EC ahead 16-11, and back-to-back aces from Schieder that had the Soaring Eagles leading 23-15. Taylor Kaznowski '19 and Kasey Campbell '19 paced the team with four apiece against the Pioneers.

Schieder continued her strong performance in the second set. Elmira amassed a match-high 19 kills in the second set, 10 of which were hit by the Alden, New York, native. She would finish the match with a season-high 25 kills and a whopping .318 hitting percentage (25k-4e-66ta). Tiara John '19 and Smith also recorded double-digit kills in the win with 15 and 10, respectively.

Trailing two-sets-to-none, Utica captured the third set in thrilling fashion. Down by as much as five, 20-15, late in the set, the Pioneers battled back to tie the score at 22-22. The score remained even at 23-, 24- and 25-all, with the Pioneers finally grabbing their first lead since being up 6-5 on an ace that sprung them ahead, 27-26. While an EC kill again tied the set, this time at 27-27, a kill from Miranda Stockbridge and an Elmira error gave the Pioneers the set victory, 29-27.

EC won the decisive fourth set, 25-19, to claim the 3-1 win over the Pioneers, the Soaring Eagles' first Empire 8 triumph of the 2017 campaign.

News and Notes

• Elmira split Saturday's conference tri-match to improve to 12-9 on the season and 1-5 against E8 opposition.
• The loss to St. John Fisher was EC's first on a neutral court this season (5-1).
• The Soaring Eagles lead the all-time series against Utica 23-1 following Saturday's victory.
• Schieder led EC with a combined 40 kills against the Cardinal and Pioneers, including a single-match season-high of 25 in the win versus Utica.
• Schieder's 25 kills are the most that she's floored in a single match since she recorded 25 in last season's win against Utica.
• In addition to Schieder, who had double-doubles in both matches, Campbell was the only other Soaring Eagles to post double-digit digs in both matches, led by her 26 in the nightcap against the Pioneers.
• Kaznowski collected a season-high 53 assists in the win.
• Kaznowski became the eighth player in program history with accumulated 2,000-plus career assists, as she finished the day with 2,067.
• Both John and Smith ended up one dig shy of a double-double against Utica, as both picked up nine digs.

Up Next
The EC women's volleyball team will travel to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to challenge the Wildcats of Pennsylvania College of Technology on Tuesday, October 10. The non-conference match is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start.