ALFRED, N.Y. – The Elmira College women's volleyball team dropped a tough five-set decision on Wednesday afternoon to the Saxons of Alfred University, 2-3. After a dominant first two sets saw the Soaring Eagles take an early 2-0 advantage, the Saxons stormed back, steadily increasing its hitting percentage as they went on to win the final three sets of the match. 

Samantha Garry '25 paced Elmira with 17 kills, while Maddie Boucher '24 added 16 of her own. Both set season-bests for any Elmira player with kills, while Gianna Pezzino '23 added 18 assists for the Soaring Eagles. 

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 2, Alfred 3
LOCATION: Alfred, N.Y. | Terry S. Galanis Family Arena
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (5-13, 0-3 E8), Alfred (4-8, 1-2 E8)

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Alfred took an early 8-5 lead in the opening frame before Elmira went for ten consecutive points of its own in part of three kills, three service aces, and four Saxon attacking errors. Trailing 15-8, Alfred would pull within four before a kill from Morgan Richardson '25 increased the EC lead back to seven. From there, the Soaring Eagles would score five of the next six points, capped by a kill from Calli Vocke '23 to give Elmira a 25-15 first set victory. In the frame, EC hit a match-best .370, while Garry & Boucher each notched six kills. 

In the second, Elmira once again held an early advantage before scoring on seven of the next eight rallies to increase its lead to 15-7. A match-worst -.029 hitting percentage for the Saxons (nine errors), combined with double-digit kills for the Soaring Eagles saw the visitors carry a 2-0 lead in the match after a 25-18 second set win. 

From there, the Saxons would turn the tide, increasing its hitting percentage to .111 in the third, followed by .259 in the fourth. Elmira would see a drop in the third set (.091), as the Saxons took the set 25-21 to pull within one. 

In the fourth, despite a match-best 14 kills in the set for Elmira, the Saxons would jump out to a 6-1 lead and never look back. Trailing 15-7, the Soaring Eagles made a 7-0 push to pull within two before Alfred made a push to win the set 25-19. 

In the final set, the Soaring Eagles jumped out for a 13-9 lead, which forced the Saxons to use a timeout. Coming out of the break, the Saxons scored six consecutive points to take the set, 15-13. 

UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold return to the floor on Friday when they host Utica University in its home-opener. First serve is set for 7:00 PM inside Speidel Gymnasium.