WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Soaring Eagles dropped a pair of 3-0 decisions at the Worthington Classic hosted by Gallaudet University on Friday. Elmira squared off against Lebanon Valley to open the tournament and capped the day by facing the Bison.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 0, Lebanon Valley 3
LOCATION: Washington, D.C. | Field House
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (5-7, 0-0 E8), Lebanon Valley (6-3, 1-2 MACC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Soaring Eagles and Dutchmen would trade the lead early in the first set as Elmira took a 2-1 lead following a kill from Samantha Garry '25 and would later knot the score 4-4 after a service error by Lebanon Valley. The Dutchmen would take the lead for good following a kill that made it 7-5. EC would go on a 3-0 run to trim the deficit to 15-12 following a pair of kills from Calli Vocke '23 before the Dutchmen extended their advantage to 19-13. Lebanon Valley tallied five consecutive points to win the set 25-18.

Morgan Richardson '25 put the Purple & Gold ahead following a kill early in the second set before a 5-0 run by the Dutchmen would swing the momentum in their favor. Amelia Martin delivered a kill followed by a service ace for EC to trim the deficit to 12-8 before the opposition extended the advantage to 17-8. A kill by Richardson would end the run but would ultimately not be enough as the Dutchmen secured a 25-13 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Looking to extend the match, the Soaring Eagles battled from an early deficit in the third set and would rally late to turn an 18-15 deficit into a 20-19 lead. A pair of service aces from Gianna Pezzino '23 sparked the rally for the Purple & Gold, who would eventually take a 21-19 edge following an attack error by Lebanon Valley. The Dutchmen scored the final six points of the set to snatch a 25-21 victory from EC and take the match 3-0.
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 0, Gallaudet 3
LOCATION: Washington, D.C. | Field House
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (5-8, 0-0 E8), Gallaudet (7-8, 0-0 UE)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Martin and Richardson opened Elmira's second match of the day with back-to-back kills to give the Soaring Eagles a quick 2-0 lead against the Bison. Gallaudet responded with a 4-0 run and would eventually take an 8-4 lead in the set. Trailing 9-5, Vocke started a rally with a kill as the Purple & Gold would eventually take a 10-9 lead as Lisa Powless '26 delivered an ace to break the tie. Gallaudet would gain momentum in the set by taking a 17-14 edge and wouldn't look back en route to a 25-22 victory.

The Soaring Eagles stayed level with the Bison in the second set until Gallaudet opened a 15-10 advantage before eventually extending the edge to 21-11. Elmira looked to make a late rally in the set following a double block from Vocke and Richardson along with a kill from Vocke to make it 24-16. The Bison closed out the set with a kill to secure the 25-16 victory and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Gallaudet opened the third set with a 4-0 run and would score seven of the first eight points to take a 7-1 advantage against Elmira. Richardson would be responsible for both of EC's points with a pair of kills early in the set before the Bison used a 10-0 rally to take a 17-2 lead in the set. EC trimmed the gap to 17-5 after a double block from Vocke and Maddie Boucher '24 along with an ace from Cami Witchley '25. Clark followed later in the set with consecutive aces for the Soaring Eagles to make it 21-8 before Garry added a kill later in the set.

UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold return to the court for a matchup against Washington College (MD) at noon on September 24 to close the Worthington Classic hosted by Gallaudet University. Elmira opens Empire 8 action at Medaille on September 30 at 7:00 PM.