ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College women's volleyball team dropped both matches on day two of the Elmira Fall Quad Invitational on Saturday afternoon, falling to New England College 3-1 before dropping its second match in straight-sets to William Paterson, who finished the weekend 3-0. 

In game one against the Pilgrims, the Soaring Eagles would pick up its lone set win in the second frame (25-16), while Maddie Boucher '24 finished with nine kills to lead the Elmira offense. Makenna Clark '25 and Cassidy Ryan '24 followed behind, picking up seven and five kills, respectively. 

Against William Paterson, the Soaring Eagles would be held to a negative hitting percentage, while finishing the match with just 13 kills, paced by Boucher, Clark, and Kayla Neer '25 with three a piece. For the afternoon, Asia Curkendall '25 would finish with 29 set assists and 20 digs, while four Soaring Eagles eclipsed double-digit digs against New England College. 

JUST THE BASICS (Match 1):
SCORES: Elmira 1, New England College 3
LOCATION: Elmira, N.Y. | Speidel Gymnasium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira: 1-1 (0-0 Empire 8), New England College: 1-1 (0-0 GNAC)

JUST THE BASICS (Match 2):
SCORES: Elmira 0, William Paterson 3
LOCATION: Elmira, N.Y. | Speidel Gymnasium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira: 1-2 (0-0 Empire 8), William Paterson: 3-0 (0-0 NJAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED (ELMIRA vs. NEC):

• The Pilgrims would take the first two points of the match before Elmira rattled off five consecutive points on a pair of kills, a service ace, and a pair of NEC errors. 
• Forcing the Pilgrims into a timeout, the visiting team would go on a run to score nine of the next 12 points to take a 13-9 lead. Trailing 18-13, Elmira would record a kill from Ryan and a pair of service aces from Boucher to tie the frame at 18-18, but it would be NEC who would go on to score seven of the final ten points to take the opening frame, 25-21. 
• In the second, Elmira would quickly jump out to a 9-2 lead over the Pilgrims, with six points coming with Boucher at the service position, who finished the weekend with 13 service aces.
•  Elmira continued with its foot on the pedal, eventually taking a 16-4 lead, and despite a late run from the Pilgrims, would take the set 25-16. In the set, Elmira posted a game-low six kills, but would receive a plethora of service aces, while finishing the match with 17 as a team compared to just three for NEC. 
• The third and fourth sets would go to the Pilgrims, who would take the frames 25-23 and 25-15, respectively. Elmira would commit 15 errors in the final two sets compared to nine for NEC, who would go on to take the match, 3-

HOW IT HAPPENED (ELMIRA vs. WILLIAM PATERSON):

• Against the Pioneers, the Soaring Eagles would be held to a -.068 hitting percentage compared to a .382% clip for the visitors. The Soaring Eagles, who committed 17 errors compared to seven for the Pioneers, would have trouble in the first set as William Paterson went on to take the opening frame, 25-9.
• Elmira would make things interesting in the second, going on a run of its own down the stretch where they scored four unanswered points with Boucher at the service spot, trimming its deficit to just one (23-22). Despite the late run, a kill from the Pioneers followed by a service error from Elmira allowed WPU to take two of the final three points and take the set, 25-23. 
• In the third, Elmira would be held to a game-low two kills in the set, compared to 11 for the Pioneers. A .526 hitting percentage for William Paterson in the frame would be too much to handle as the visitors would take the match in straight-sets.

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles hit the road next weekend, traveling to Northampton, Massachusetts to take part in the Bonnie May Invitational, hosted by Smith College on Friday and Saturday. Elmira will begin the weekend with a matchup against Smith (Fri, 7:00 PM), before taking on Lasell and Western New England on Saturday.