Score: Elmira College 3, SUNY Canton 0 [26-24, 25-19, 25-13]
Score: Elmira College 3, Bard College 0 [25-20, 25-23, 25-22]
Records: Elmira (5-2), Canton (2-5), Bard (3-7)
Location: Oswego, N.Y. -- Max Ziel Gymnasium
 
OSWEGO, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's volleyball team picked up a pair of straight-set wins on the first day of the Oswego State Invitational, hosted by Oswego State, on Friday evening. The Soaring Eagles earned a 3-0 [26-24, 25-19, 25-13] victory over SUNY Canton in the first match before topping Bard College [25-20, 25-23, 25-22] in the second contest at the Lakers' Max Ziel Gymnasium in Oswego, New York. The Purple and Gold were led by an impressive night by junior outside hitter Natalie Schieder '19, who finished the day with 37 kills combined in the two games.

EC opened play today with a straight-set victory [26-24, 25-19, 25-13] over Canton. After a tight opening set, which saw the Soaring Eagles take a 26-24 triumph, Elmira stepped on the gas and cruised to 25-19 and 25-13 wins in the second and third set, respectively. EC's impressive play was fueled by noteworthy hitting, as the Soaring Eagles out-hit the Kangaroos .286-to-.125.

Schieder and Tiara John '19 led the way for the Elmira offense, as the former finished with a match-high 18 kills and the latter was not far behind with 11. Schieder's 18 kills are were new season high for the junior until the second match of the day. John's 11 kills are the most that she has recording while donning the Purple and Gold. Fellow juniors Taylor Kaznowski '19 and Rachel Katzenberger '19 also set new season highs in the contest, as Kaznowski tallied a match-high 35 assists and Katzenberger recorded 11 digs.

The opening set of EC's first match of the day was tight all the way through, as the score sat tied at 23-all late in the first. The Kangaroos took a late lead, 24-23, which prompted a Soaring Eagles' timeout. Elmira did not let this deficit faze it, however, as it answered with three straight points to take the set by a 26-24 final score.

The second and third sets were not as close, as the Soaring Eagles held the lead in both for a majority of the sets. In the second, once EC stormed out to the early 10-9 advantage, a lead that it would not relinquish for the rest of the set, taking the second by a 25-19 final score. The third set mirrored the second, as the Soaring Eagles won the first four points. This early advantage held for the remainder of the third, as Elmira took the set and the match with a 25-13 win.

EC continued to roll in the second contest of the day, as it defeated Bard by a 3-0 final score [25-20, 25-23, 25-22]. For the second consecutive match, the Soaring Eagles used effective hitting to top their non-conference foe, as their .236 clip topped the Raptors' -.036 mark.

Schieder continued her strong recent play in the second match of the day, as she tallied a season-best 19 kills to go along with a match-high 11 digs. With the double-double, the Alden, New York, native has already recorded three on the young season. Schieder's attacking was very efficient throughout the match, as she recorded a .515 hitting percentage on her match-high 33 total attempts.

Rookie Kassi Hastings '21 also made some noise in the win against Bard, as she produced a season-high 23 assists in her two sets played. The 5-foot-8-inch setter also chipped in six digs to finish in a tie for the second most on EC.

As a team, Elmira improved its play as the match moved ahead, as the Soaring Eagles raised their hitting percentage as they progressed through each set. The team posted a match-high .320 clip in the third set on 13 kills and just five errors on 25 total attempts.
 
In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Rhonda Faunce on how her team played in the opening match against Canton…
"Tonight versus Canton, was the best that I have seen us play all season. The team had shown a good all-around performance. We were well balanced and played with a lot of emotion, which was good to see."

Coach Faunce on the second match of the day against Bard…
"Against Bard we had to hang on and we did. The Raptors make you play out of position, which makes you uncomfortable, but we held it together to earn the victory."

Coach Faunce on Natalie Schieder's performance across both matches…
"She is our go-to player and against Canton she played smart and we did a good job of getting her the ball. Against Bard, she was able to take advantage of their blocker's size and she was able to hit the ball right over them."

News and Notes

• With the pair of victories tonight, Elmira improves its record to 5-2.
• EC tied a season-high mark with four blocks against Canton.
• The Soaring Eagles' 39 assists in match two are a new season high for the team.
• Schieder recorded new season highs in kills (19) and hitting percentage (.515) in the win over Bard.
• The last Soaring Eagle to record 19 kills in a match was Schieder, who did so on October 29 of last season in a five-set match against these same Raptors.
• The last member of the Purple and Gold to record a clip higher than Schieder's .515 against Bard with at least 33 total attempts was Jess Mezei '07, who tallied a .559 clip on 19 kills and zero errors on 34 total attempts on November 9, 2006.
• John's 11 kills against the Roos are a new season high.
• Katzenberger's 11 digs in match one is a new season high.
• Kaznowski's 35 assists against Canton are a new season high for the junior.
• Freshman Savannah Terry '21 set a new season high in match one with seven kills.

Up Next
The Elmira women continue play in Oswego, New York, with a doubleheader on Saturday, September 16. EC starts the day with a match against Hilbert College at 11:00 a.m. before playing the hosts Lakers of Oswego State at 1:00 p.m. at Max Ziel Gymnasium.