La Plume, Pa. – The Elmira women's volleyball team traveled south to Keystone College for the Spirit of Service Volleyball Classic. In their first match of the classic, the Soaring Eagles took on the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons and despite a strong effort, fell in straight sets (3-0).
Leaders – Tonight's EC leaders were
Averleigh McFarlan and
Morgan Sica with eight and six kills respectively. McFarlan also tallied six digs and one ace while
Ellora Bynoe chipped in six kills and 10 digs. Additionally,
Zoie Karcz recorded 19 assists on the night.
Play-by-play – Elmira got off on a slow start in set one allowing the Red Dragons to create a solid lead. The Soaring Eagles capitalized on Cortland errors while McFarlan and Sica added in a handful of kills combined. Late in set one, EC went on a four-point rally that saw two Cortland errors and two kills from McFarlan as they tried to cut the deficit (23-15). After their run the Red Dragons were quick to shut them down to take set one (25-15).
Cortland found their way onto the scoreboard first in set two, taking a three-point lead (3-0). Sica laid down a dominate kill that was soon followed by another from
Aimee Bridges to cut their advantage in half (4-2). McFarlan was able to tack on three more kills and Bynoe recorded her first of the night. The Red Dragons were able to hold the Soaring Eagles to just 15 points closing out set two 25-15.
To open set three,
Vicki Titus tallied two aces for EC to give them their first lead 2-0. Elmira took advantage of Cortland's errors, keeping the lead for the early half of the set. The Red Dragons were able to tie the set 8-8 but Bynoe fired back with three kills to keep the lead 12-11. The remainder of set three became an intense battle with Sica, Bynoe and McFarlan pressuring the Cortland defense. Together they totaled a collective seven kills to keep EC neck-and-neck with the Red Dragons. With the scoreboard tied 22-22, the Soaring Eagles fought but came up short as Cortland slipped by to take the final set win (25-22).
Up-next – Elmira starts day two bright and early with their first match against Wilmington College beginning at 10 am. They will then face Keystone College at 2 pm to close out the weekend.
