Score: Houghton College 3, Elmira College 1 (13-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-23)
Records: Elmira (4-7, 0-1 E8), Houghton (2-9, 1-0 E8)
Location: The Nielsen Center -- Houghton, N.Y.

HOUGHTON, N.Y. -- A dominant first set proved not enough for the Elmira College women's volleyball team in its 2018 Empire 8 Conference opener at Houghton College, as the Highlanders rallied from behind to beat the Soaring Eagles in four sets on Tuesday night.

In the opening set, the Purple and Gold produced the highest hitting percentage by either team at .250 with 12 kills and just four errors. As a result, EC cruised to a 25-13 triumph to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Up 6-5 in the set, the Soaring Eagles distanced themselves with six consecutive points with a run that included kills from Tiara John '19, Savannah Terry '21 and Natalie Schieder '19. Terry later floored another kill, before tossing up an ace as part of a 7-1 run that all but decided the set, giving Elmira a 20-9 cushion.

In the second set, however, the Soaring Eagles recorded their worst hitting percentage of the night, -.053, while committing a match-high 10 attack errors. Unable to get into a rhythm, Houghton quickly pulled ahead 9-3 and maintained a sizable lead throughout the set. EC did find some life late, winning five consecutive points to reduce an 11-point deficit to 24-18, but the hole to too deep to overcome.

EC made a similar run in the fourth. Down 14-8, Taylor Kaznowski '19 hurled back-to-back aces on a five-point run to come within one, 14-13. The Soaring Eagles, who finished with a total of eight aces on the night, eventually evened the score at 17-all on a Kasey Campbell '19 ace. Houghton responded with three straight points to capture a lead it would never relinquish.

Terry, a second-year middle blocker from Owego, New York, paced the Soaring Eagles with 10 kills and three aces. John and Schieder followed with nine and eight kills, respectively, while Schieder, Campbell, and Kaznowski each logged a team-high 10 digs. Houghton's Amber Smith led all players with 16 kills.

News and Notes

• Elmira fell to 4-7 overall and 0-1 in Empire 8 play with the loss to the Highlanders.
• Tuesday's loss was the third in 2018 for EC after winning the opening set.
• Terry's 10 kills and three aces are both season highs.
• Kaznowski, a senior setter from Hamburg, New York, picked up her fifth double-double of the year with 32 assists and 10 digs.
• Campbell finished with double-digit digs for the sixth consecutive match.

Up Next
Elmira continues Empire 8 play on Saturday, September 22, with a conference tri-match at Speidel Gymnasium. The Soaring Eagles start the day with an 11:00 a.m. match against Utica College, before taking on The Sage Colleges at 4:00 p.m.