HOUGHTON, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's volleyball team split a pair of road matches on Sunday afternoon with Houghton College. Elmira (6-3, 4-2 E8) picked up a four-set win in the opening contest to clinch the second seed in the Empire 8 Conference Championship, while Houghton (4-4, 3-3 E8) won the nightcap in four sets. With the win, the Soaring Eagles earned a first-round bye in the E8 Championships and the right to host their opponent – either third-seeded Nazareth College or sixth-seeded Utica College – in the semifinals on Thursday, April 22.
 
Elmira 3, Houghton 1 (28-26-, 19-25, 25-21, 25-23)
A balanced attack was key in the opening match of the day, one that saw the Soaring Eagles defeat the Highlanders in four sets and clinch the No. 2 seed in the Empire 8 Conference Championships.
 
Six players logged five or more kills for the Elmira women, four of which had nine or more. Savannah Terry '21 paced the group with 11 kills on 22 attempts with just one error (45.5%). She also added a match-high five blocks, three of which were solo, as well as three service aces and one dig.
 
Lydia Milligan '21, Kaylene Sauschuk '22 and Amelia Martin '23 each had nine kills. Milligan chipped in 12 digs, one block and one ace. Martin also had five digs and a service ace.
 
Kassi Hastings '21 amassed 40 assists, six digs, two blocks and one service ace. Maddie Hampton '24 continued her impressive freshman season with match highs of 21 digs and four service aces.
 
Elmira built a large lead in the first set and had multiple set points at 24-18, but the Highlanders rallied with seven straight points to take a 25-24 lead and claim a match point of their own. After trading the next two points, Elmira won three straight to seal the set, 28-26. Hampton clinched it for Elmira with one of her match-high service aces.
 
After Houghton won the second set, Elmira jumped out to a 10-4 lead behind a 5-0 run in the third frame. EC's lead ballooned to as many as eight points, and by as few as three, before the Purple and Gold closed it out, 25-21.
 
The fourth set was close the entire time, but it looked as though Houghton held the momentum late in the set with a two-point lead, 22-20. However, a kill and a service ace by Terry knotted the score at 22-all.
 
Houghton answered with a point to make it 23-22, but a kill from Maddie Boucher '24, followed by an attack error from Jenna Bittinger and a kill by Martin clinched the set and match for the Soaring Eagles.
 
Houghton 3, Elmira 1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22)
After splitting the first two sets, Houghton went on to seal the match by winning the next two frames by identical 25-22 scores.
 
Sam Sprague '22 and Milligan led Elmira's offense with double-digit kills. Sprague produced 12 kills, as well as seven digs and a pair of service aces, while Milligan amassed 11 kills, nine digs and one ace. Delaney Johnson '23 was not far behind with nine kills. All three hit above 15%, including Milligan who hit at 23.1%.
 
Chloe Scheff '23 produced a match- and career-high six service aces. She also added five kills.
 
Hastings once again orchestrated the Elmira offense and finished with a match-high 41 assists. The senior setter also had nine digs and one service ace.
 
For the second time today, and the third time this season, Hampton record 20-plus digs. The Horseheads, New York, native finished with a career-high 27 digs, as well as three service aces.
 
News and Notes

• Elmira ended the regular season with a 6-3 overall record and a 4-2 mark in E8 play.
• The Soaring Eagles clinched the No. 2 seed in the E8 Championships.
• EC will play either No. 3 Nazareth or No. 6 Utica in the semifinal round of the E8 tournament.
• Elmira will host its first E8 tournament contest since 2012.
• With 81 assists today, Hastings eclipsed 1,000 career assists (1,074).
• Hampton's 27 digs were a career high.
• Scheff's six service aces were a career high.
• Terry and Hampton are tied for the team lead in service aces with 21 apiece.

 
Up Next
The Elmira women will await either third-seeded Nazareth College or sixth-seeded Utica College in the Empire 8 Conference Championships semifinals, scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 22, at EC's Speidel Gymnasium.