Elmira, N.Y. – The Elmira Women's Volleyball team opened their annual Invitational with their first home match of the season. In four competitive sets, the Soaring Eagles fell short to the Geneva Golden Tornadoes, 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 24-26, 25-13).
Leaders – Freshman,
Averleigh McFarlan shined in today's match as she recorded 13 kills for the Soaring Eagles offense.
Ellora Bynoe found herself in almost every statistical category as she tallied six kills, nine digs, and one block and ace.
Aimee Bridges collected six of her own kills while
Erin Bracken earned 17 assists.
Play-by-Play – The Soaring Eagles found their rhythm late in the first set as Geneva picked up a five-point lead (7-2). Bridges laid the first big kill for EC which ignited their offense, decreasing the Golden Tornadoes advantage. A four-point run that started from two Geneva errors followed by a Bracken ace and McFarlan kill allowed Elmira to work within one, 14-13. The Golden Tornadoes fought back, but were only able to keep the Soaring Eagles just points away. McFarlan laid down two strong kills to put the score at 24-22 but Geneva secured the final point to close set one.
McFarlan carried the momentum into set two, hitting the board first with an opening kill. Elmira improved offensively, keeping up with Geneva the entirety of the set. McFarlan would go on to add three more kills alongside teammates
Gabby Lewis, Bynoe and Bridges. The Golden Tornadoes pulled away late in the set after another McFarlan kill (18-16) and only allowing EC one more point from an error to take set two (25-17).
To open set three, the Golden Tornadoes went on a five-point run. Kills from
Madalyn Devonshire, McFarnlan and Bracken paired with a trio of errors from Geneva saw the match even (9-9). Elmira fed off another error to begin their six-point rally where Bridges shined with three kills, a Bracken ace and a pair of errors (15-10) in favor of the Soaring Eagles. Geneva managed to get within a point before EC went on another run consisting of kills from Lewis and Bynoe to extend their lead (22-16). The Golden Tornadoes tied the match at 24, but a dominate kill from Mcfarlan followed by an error gave the Soaring Eagles a set three win (26-24).
Set four saw the Purple & Gold lose their momentum as Geneva held a steady lead. McFarlan tacked on another three kills with Bynoe adding a pair of her own. After a final kill from Devonshire, the Golden Tornadoes shut down the set and to take home the match final (3-1).
Up Next – The Soaring Eagles head back to Speidel Gymnasium tomorrow morning to take on the New England Pilgrims at 11:00 am. Following that match they will play the Gallaudet Bison at 1:00 pm.
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athletics.elmira.edu. Follow us on Twitter - @ECSoaringEagles, Instagram - @ecsoaringeagles, YouTube - @ECSoaringEagles, and Facebook by searching Elmira College Athletics.
