ELMIRA, N.Y. –  The Elmira College women's volleyball team fell in its Empire 8 opener on Wednesday evening to the visiting Wolves from Keuka College, 3-0. In a closely-contested second set which saw Elmira hit .310% from the floor using 15 kills, the Purple & Gold would eventually drop the frame 26-24 before Keuka took the third, and earned its first E8 victory of the season. 

For the match, Madi Conti '28 would highlight the Elmira offensive with a .667 hitting percentage, notching 14 kills in 21 attempts while not recording an attacking error. Additionally, Morgan Sica '28 would notch six kills, while Asia Curkendall '25 recorded 24 assists and ten digs.

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 0, Keuka 3
LOCATION: Elmira, N.Y.  | Speidel Gymnasium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (2-12, 0-1 Empire 8), Keuka (5-8, 1-0 Empire 8)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After the teams split the first four points of the opening frame, Keuka would use a 6-0 run to take an 8-2 lead. From there, Elmira would trim the deficit to as little as four, while the Wolves expanded its lead to as many as ten in the set. Keuka would cap the set and take a 1-0 lead following a kill from Bryn Straub to capture a 25-16 first set victory. In the set, Elmira would notch seven kills, three of which came from Conti. 
• The second would prove to be the most competitive of the match, as the frame featured 17 ties and four lead changes throughout. With the set tied at 16-16, Keuka would use a 4-0 run to regain a lead of four, before five consecutive points for EC saw the Soaring Eagles ahead 21-20 with Myia Murphy '27 at the service position. From there, neither team would score more than two in a row, which the Wolves did at the end of the set with a pair of kills to take the frame 26-24, while extending the lead in the match to two. 
• In the third, Keuka would find themselves up 4-0 early, but following four consecutive points from the Soaring Eagles which included a pair of kills from Sica, Elmira would tie the frame at 20-20. In a game of fours, the Wolves would tally that exact number to take a 24-20 lead in the frame, before eventually taking the set 25-22 and the match. 

UP NEXT:
Elmira returns to the court on Friday evening as they host reigning Empire 8 champion, Alfred University, inside of Speidel Gymnasium. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 PM.