ONEONTA, NY – The Hartwick College volleyball team lost in a pair of Empire 8 matches on Saturday at the conference crossover at Lambros Arena. The Hawks dropped a three-game match to Nazareth, 19-25, 19-25, 23-25, in their opener. They had a 1-0 lead over Ithaca in their second match but the Bombers came back to take the final three games, 19-25, 21-25, 21-25.
Sophomore hitter
Hannah Strom (Kenmore, WA/Inglemoor) registered 25 kills and 20 digs in the two matches.
Christina Vitale (Port Jefferson Station, NY/St. John the Baptist) contributed 33 digs and
Quincy Kinzel (Scotia, NY/Guilderland) dished out 64 assists.
Against the two-time defending Empire 8 champion Golden Flyers, the Hawks were edged out by six points in both the first and second games to fall into a 2-0 hole. 'Wick would hold a lead in the late stages of the third game and nearly cut its deficit in half, but Naz would battle back, 25-23, to take the match.
Strom and
Dana Martin (Chester, NY/Burke Catholic) each had seven kills.
Mary Beth DeCuyke (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown) added five. Vitale would tally 13 digs defensively. Kinzel would contribute eight digs and she registered 21 assists.
In a rematch of last season's five-game thriller which was ultimately won by Ithaca, the Hawks came out firing taking the first game, 28-26. The Bombers would respond winning the next two games by final margins of 25-19 and 25-21 to take a two games to one advantage.
In the fourth set, 'Wick looked poised to even things and force a fifth and deciding set once again as it led by an 18-14 margin following a Strom kill. Ithaca called timeout and regrouped rattling off nine of the next 11 points to earn a 23-20 edge. The Hawks gained one back on an Ithaca service error but the Bombers would get the final two points for the 3-1 win.
Kinzel would distribute 43 assists in the match for Hartwick. Strom and Martin would each register double-doubles. Strom accumulated a match-high 18 kills and 17 digs. Martin added 10 assists and 15 digs. Vitale had a match-high 20 digs for the Hawks.
Hartwick (3-13, 1-2 E8) returns to the court on Thursday, September 26 in an away match at Morrisville State.
