ELMIRA, NY- The women's volleyball team gained another split as they competed on the second day of the Elmira Tournament on Saturday morning.
"Overall, this weekend is better than our opening, and has put us on a track to compete next weekend," said head coach Lou Lansing. "It proved that we can pass and attack in all roles at a high level.
In the first match, the Hawks defeated Houghton 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21). Shannon McGee (Cortlandt Manor/Walter Panas) had 36 assists, seven digs, three blocks, and three service aces. Dana Martin (Chester, NY/Burke Catholic) led in kills with 12. Courtney Desmond (Cortlandt Manor/Hendrick Hudson) registered eight kills, eight blocks and four block assists. Christine Confer (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) contributed seven kills and four blocks. Brianna Eckert (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) had a team-high 22 digs while Lauren Mausert (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) had 14 digs to go along with eight kills.
Hartwick dropped their second match of the day to SUNY New Paltz 3-0 (17-25, 15-25, 20-25). McGee led with 18 assists. Martin had 10 kills. Mausert racked up 10 digs while Eckert contributed nine digs. Desmond was solid at the net with four blocks and she assisted on two.
Despite a last set push, Hartwick couldn't find the answer against New Paltz. The Hawks led by as much as four in the third set, but were overtaken at 19 as a solid passing and attack from New Paltz was too much to overcome.
"Confer had a great pair of matches, making her and Martin excellent contributors as freshman, said Lansing "The middles continued to perform at a high level, with Desmond and Katie Ryan (Circleville, NY/Pine Bush) blocking and attacking quite well and Lauren Heiman (Dansville, NY/Wayland Cohocton) coming off the bench to give us exactly the punch we needed against Houghton. The competition in that role is really benefiting the whole team."
Later in the day, Desmond was named to the all-tournament team for her efforts throughout the weekend.
Hartwick will compete in Schenectady next weekend at the Union Tournament.
