WORCESTER, MASS. – The Soaring Eagles played a pair of matches on the campus of Clark University on Saturday but would be unable to close out the weekend with a victory after dropping a 3-0 decision against Clark and a 3-1 decision against Western New England.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 0, Clark 3
LOCATION: Worcester, Mass. | Kneller Gymnasium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (5-5, 0-0 E8), Clark (5-4, 1-0 NEWMAC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Soaring Eagles jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead in the opening set following a double block by Samantha Garry '25 and Makenna Clark '25. Clark would rally to take a 9-6 lead before Elmira used a 5-0 run to retake the lead 11-9. The Cougars would take the lead for good in the set following an EC ball-handling error that made it 16-15. A 3-0 run by the Cougars would secure the 25-19 victory.

It would be all Clark early in the second set as the Cougars took an 8-2 advantage following an ace. Morgan Richardson '25 and Maddie Boucher '24 delivered consecutive kills for EC to stop the run by the Cougars. A 4-0 rally by the Soaring Eagles helped to close the gap to 13-9 as Boucher and Calli Vocke '23 highlighted the run with a double block. Elmira put together a rally late in the set but would ultimately drop a 25-18 decision.

Elmira held an early lead in the third set following a couple of attacking errors by the Cougars. A kill by Vocke followed by an ace from Clark pushed the Purple & Gold's lead to 7-4. A timeout called by the Cougars would help to shift momentum in the set as they would eventually gain the lead 10-9. EC kept the score within two points for most of the set until the Cougars used a 4-0 run to put some space in between the two sides. A blocking error by EC would end the set 25-18.

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 1, Western New England 3
LOCATION: Worcester, Mass. | Kneller Gymnasium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (5-6, 0-0 E8), Western New England (8-3, 0-0 CCC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Elmira responded in its second match of the day by battling Western New England and rallying midway through the opening set to take a 14-13 lead. The Soaring Eagles would get one of four aces from Lisa Powless '26 in the match to gain a 15-13 lead and never look back. Amelia Martin '23 would take over for the Soaring Eagles late in the set with a trio of kills before several attacking errors by the Golden Bears secured the 25-18 victory for Elmira.

Western New England flipped the momentum early in the second set as the Golden Bears took advantage of some Elmira miscues to take a 7-3 lead. EC battled back in the set to pull within three points of the Golden Bears before a 6-1 run led to a timeout and a 19-10 lead. Kills from Vocke, Garry, and Boucher helped Elmira again trim the deficit before a 4-0 run secured the set 25-18 for the Golden Bears.

Both sides battled in the third set looking to gain the upper hand as the Golden Bears took an early 5-1 lead before the Soaring Eagles rallied to eventually take a 10-9 lead. Neither side would lead by more than one point through the middle of the set until a kill from Clark gave EC a 19-17 advantage. EC increased its lead to 21-18 before the Golden Bears would come rallying back to knot the score 22-22 and then 23-23. The Golden Bears secured the final two points for the 25-23 victory and a 3-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set would be controlled by Western New England as the Golden Bears led from the opening serve. Attacking errors and blocks would fell the Soaring Eagles down the stretch as EC tallied nine attacking errors, while the Golden Bears recorded 10 kills and would hit .391 as a team in the set en route to a 25-8 victory.

UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold return to the court for three matches at the Worthington Classic hosted by Gallaudet University on September 23 & 24 against Lebanon Valley College, Gallaudet, and Washington College (MD).