Score: Stevens Institute of Technology 3, Elmira College 0 [25-16, 25-19, 25-16]
Records: Stevens (13-2, 2-0 E8), Elmira (7-4, 0-1 E8)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, N.Y.
 
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 [25-16, 25-19, 25-16] setback in the team's Empire 8 Conference opener tonight at Speidel Gymnasium against the Stevens Institute of Technology. 
 
Junior Natalie Schieder '19 led the way for the Soaring Eagles in tonight's conference bout, as she recorded a team-leading 11 kills to go along with a career-best four blocks. Schieder's classmate Taylor Kaznowski '19 also had a strong night, as she accounted for 20 of EC's 24 digs.
 
The Purple and Gold struggled all evening to generate offense, as they finished with just a .000 attacking percentage. The Ducks, on the other hand, were flying high on offense, as they posted a .202 hitting clip. Another weapon that Stevens employed was its service game, as it tallied six aces, compared to Elmira's one.   
 
The opening set started off relatively close, as the Soaring Eagles trailed by just one point, 8-7, early on. The hard-fought affair continued into the set, as again EC found itself down two points, 15-13, after a Kasey Campbell '19 service ace just over midway through the first. From that moment, however, the Ducks stepped on the gas and went on a 10-3 run to win the first 25-16.
 
The start of the second set mirrored the first, as both teams traded mini-runs until the score sat at 11-9 in favor of Stevens. The Ducks continued this momentum, as a 6-2 burst put them ahead of Elmira, 17-11. Stevens held on to this advantage for the remainder of the second, earning a 25-19 triumph in the set.
 
EC came out firing in the third, taking a quick 4-3 lead after the first seven points. The Ducks answered with 5-0 run to take an 8-4 lead of their own. A 5-2 mini-run by the Soaring Eagles drew the deficit back to just one point, 10-9. The burst was capped off by a beautiful kill from Schieder. Another kill by Schieder, five points later, knotted the score at 12-all.
 
From that point, however, Stevens showed why it owns a 13-2 record on the year, as it tallied seven straight points to storm ahead 19-12. Elmira would reel off one more 3-0 run before the end of the set, but it proved to not be enough, as the Ducks held on to take the third by a 25-16 final score, sealing their second conference victory of the season.
 
News and Notes

• Elmira's home record drops to 3-2 this season.
• EC opens the E8 slate of its schedule 0-1.
• The all-time series between the two sides stands at 11-3 in favor of the Ducks.
• The Soaring Eagles tied a season-best mark with five blocks on the night.
• Elmira's one service ace against Stevens ties a season low for the team.
• Schieder's four blocks tonight are a career high for the junior.
• The last Soaring Eagle to record four blocks in a match was Kelsey Ray '17, who did so on October 15, 2016, in a non-conference tilt against Lycoming.
• Schieder fell three digs short of her team-leading sixth double-double.
• Savannah Terry '21 recorded a season-high three blocks against the Ducks.
• With 20 assists tonight, Kaznowski has reached that total in all but three matches this year.
• Tiara John '19 tallied a team-high eight digs, the second most she has recorded this year.

 
Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will look to bounce back from today's setback tomorrow, as they welcome conference foes Hartwick College and Nazareth College to Speidel Gymnasium for an Empire 8 Crossover. Elmira takes on the Hawks first at 11:00 a.m., before challenging the Golden Flyers at 4:00 p.m.