Match 1: FDU-Florham 3, Elmira 2 (25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 25-27, 11-15)
Match 2: Lycoming 3, Elmira 0 (21-25, 23-25, 20-25)
Location: Washington, D.C. – Gallaudet University Field House

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The Elmira College women's volleyball team opened the annual Worthington Classic hosted by Gallaudet University on Friday afternoon with a pair of hard-fought matches against FDU-Florham and Lycoming. After falling to FDU-Florham in a five-set thriller to open the day, EC couldn't topple Lyoming in the nightcap, as the Warriors claimed a straight-set victory.

Match 1
Despite taking the opening two sets of the match, the Soaring Eagles couldn't fend off the Devils of FDU-Florham in their opening match of the Worthington Classic, falling in five sets.

Senior setter Taylor Kaznowski '19 posted her best performance of the season in the effort, tallying a season-high 51 assists to go along with 14 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. With that performance, Kaznowski claimed fifth-place on Elmira's career assists leaderboard. Natalie Schieder '19, Tiara John '19 and Lauren Smith '21 all recorded double-digit kills, finishing with 17, 15, and 13 kills, respectively.

Elmira cruised the opening set, spurred on by a 6-0 run highlighted by two aces from Schieder. With a 20-10 lead, the Purple and Gold settled in comfortably as Savannah Terry '21 wrapped up the set with one of her six kills. The second set was tighter but saw more of the same as The Purple and Gold hit at a match-best .421 clip. Schieder led the way with six kills in the set.  EC led the whole way, staving off a late comeback attempt as Schieder, Smith and John all floored kills to preserve Elmira's lead.

The Devils came surging back to force a fifth set after narrowly edging the Purple and Gold in back-to-back sets. The two sides traded blows to start the definitive set with neither side gaining separation. A 3-0 run by FDU-Florham proved to be the difference as EC couldn't overcome the four-point deficit as the Devils took the set 15-11 to win the match.

Match 2
Elmira battled Lycoming in its second match of the day at the Worthington Classic. The Soaring Eagles kept pace with the Warriors in every set but couldn't push ahead of their Mid Atlantic Conference opponents, as Lycoming took the match in straight sets.

EC's defense stood tall against the Warriors as Elmira tallied 40 digs to Lycoming's 37. Kasey Campbell '19 led the way with a match-high 18 digs. Kaznowski kept up her standout play with a match-high 34 assists. Hitting woes haunted the Purple and Gold as they were unable to match their opponents who hit over.300 in each set.

Neither side gave an inch in the opening set as the score was tied on 16 separate occasions. EC pushed ahead 20-17 after Kaznowski posted a kill and an ace back-to-back before Schieder put the Soaring Eagles up three with one of her team-high 11 kills. The Warriors answered immediately with a  6-0 run that the Purple and Gold couldn't overcome as Lycoming took the first set 25-21.

The second set followed the script of the first as the momentum swung like a pendulum between the two sides. After slipping behind earlier in the set, the Soaring Eagles used back-to-back kills from John and Schieder to pull within one before an error by the Warriors knotted the score at 21-21. The Purple and Gold couldn't capitalize on Lycoming's miscues however, as the Warriors claimed the set 25-23.

It was all Lycoming in the final stanza as the Warriors went up and never looked back. Despite the Soaring Eagles' best efforts, they couldn't draw even with Lycoming throughout the set. Smith pulled EC within three at 23-20, but that was as close as they would get as Lycoming won the final set 25-20.

News and Notes

• With her 85 assists on Friday, Kaznowski moved into fifth place on Elmira's all-time career assist leaderboard with a total of 2,939.
• Kaznowski only needs 68 assists to move into fourth all-time in Elmira history.
• Elmira's 12 service aces against FDU-Florham marked the ninth match in which the Purple and Gold have tallied double-digit aces this season.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles are back in action on Saturday morning for a 10:00 a.m. tilt against Marymount on day two of the Worthington Classic. Later in the afternoon, EC will play their final match of the tournament against an opponent determined by pool play.