Match 1: Elmira 3, D'Youville 0
Match 2: St. Lawrence 3, Elmira 2
Records: Elmira (3-4), D'Youville (0-11), St. Lawrence (6-3)
Location: Oswego, N.Y. – Max Ziel Gymnasium

OSWEGO, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's volleyball team had two strong performances on Friday evening, but walked away with a 1-1 mark on day one of the Oswego State Invitational. EC garnered a smooth straight-set victory over D'Youville to start the night before battling St. Lawrence in a five set match that saw the Saints steal a win.

Match 1
The Soaring Eagles (3-4) got the night started off on the right foot, grabbing a three-set win (25-18, 25-15, 25-20) over the Spartans of D'Youville. Tiara John '19 led the way for the Purple and Gold, flooring season-high 11 kills while hitting a team-best .364.

EC grabbed the momentum early in the first set, using a 9-0 run highlighted by three service aces from Lauren Smith '21. After D'Youville burned a timeout with the score at 9-4, EC kept the offense rolling with a kill from Natalie Schieder '19. The Soaring Eagles cruised from there as Smith ended the set with another ace.

After a back-and-forth start to the second set, the Soaring Eagles used a 7-0 run, spurred on once again by three aces from Smith, to build a 13-7 advantage. Schieder came alive with three kills while John floored one of her 11 to give the Purple and Gold an 18-9 edge. EC cruised from there as John added five more kills to send the Soaring Eagles into the third set with a 2-0 advantage.

The third and final set was a tightly contested battle as neither side could gain much separation over the other. Schieder pushed EC ahead by five, 15-10 with a kill from Kasey Campbell '19 but the Spartans did not go quietly, pulling within two a few points later at 21-19. John pushed EC ahead at 23-19 before Schieder ended the match on a kill from Taylor Kaznowski '19.

Match 2
Elmira's second match of the night was a back-and-forth affair from the opening serve. After trailing early in the first set, Schieder knotted the score at 10-10 with one of her 10 kills. The teams traded blows from there as Elmira was forced into a timeout trailing 23-19. The pause worked in EC's advantage as a kill from Smith kick started a set-winning 6-0 run capped by an ace from John as the Soaring Eagles took the opening set 25-23.

The second set followed the script of the first as neither side swung momentum in their favor early. After an ace from John tied the score at 7-7, the Kayenta, Arizona native added another ace and a kill to put EC up 11-7. The Purple and Gold never relinquished that lead as Kaznowski kept the offense humming en route to a 25-20 victory in the second set.

It was all St. Lawrence in the third set as the Saints hit a .556 clip en route to a 25-11 win to force the fourth set. Elmira opened the fourth set on a 6-1 run behind two aces from Kaznowski. St. Lawrence knotted the score at 10-10 as the momentum swung between the two sides. Kaylene Sauschuck '22 pulled EC back into the lead at 13-12 after getting a full swing on a lazy pass over the net by the Saints. Elmira continued to pull ahead as a kill from Schieder put the Purple and Gold up 20-14. The Soaring Eagles couldn't hang on however, as St. Lawrence came roaring back to take the fourth set 27-25.

In the fifth and final set, St. Lawrence jumped out to an early 6-1 lead, forcing EC into a timeout. Two kills from Smith and a pair of errors by the  Saints pulled the Purple and Gold within two as the score settled at 8-6, but that was as close as Elmira could get as St. Lawrence pulled away to take the final set by a score of 15-8.

In Her Own Words…
Head coach Rhonda Faunce on what she saw out of the team tonight in its pair of matches…
"We are finally playing better. It was exciting to see the girls play that well. We had a chance to be St. Lawrence, which would have been a big win, but overall I'm extremely happy with how we played as a team tonight."

News and Notes

• Smith tallied a career-high eight service aces in the win over D'Youville and reached double-digit kills (10) for the first time this season against St. Lawrence.
• All three of Elmira's victories have been in straight-sets.
• Savannah Terry '21 paced the team with five blocks between both matches.
• Campbell has posted double-digit digs in five out of seven matches this season.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles are back in action on Saturday morning for day two of the Oswego State Invitational. Elmira will challenge the host Lakers at 11:00 a.m. before wrapping up the tournament at 1:00 p.m. with a tilt against SUNY Canton.