ELMIRA, NY- The Hartwick volleyball team began play at the Empire 8 Crossover hosted by Elmira College with matches against St. John Fisher and Utica College on Saturday afternoon.

In the Hawks' first match of the day, they lost to the Cardinals 3-0 (21-25, 18-25, 21-25). Shannon McGee (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) led in assists with 16. Brianna Eckert (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) had a team-high 13 digs. Lauren Mausert (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) contributed six kills and eight digs. Dana Martin (Chester, NY/Burke Catholic) chipped in with seven kills. Courtney Desmond (Cortlandt Manor/Hendrick Hudson) was strong on defense with eight digs and five blocks.

Hartwick defeated the Pioneers in the second match of the day 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-6). Martin led with nine kills. Lintner and McGee both had 13 assists and three digs. Eckert contributed eight digs.

It was up and down for the Hawks in the first two sets until a solid run of serves from Mausert helped steady the team and build some momentum going into the third set, where Hartwick's defense and transition picked up its pace. Behind this energy and a serving run from Eckert, 'Wick ran up a 7-0 start of the third set and never looked back, with career-high attacking from Martin and 4-for-5 attacking off the bench for Rebecca Donahoe (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac).

"This was a great team effort, as several players struggled to get going in this match," noted head coach Lou Lansing. "It's always tough to face a team for the third time, especially in conference, and we were proud of the improvement the team made over the course of this set. Our confidence is slowly building, and the team is beginning to see what it's capable of."

Hartwick continues play tomorrow with a 2 p.m. match against Stevens followed by a 4:30 p.m. contest against Alfred.