ONEONTA, N.Y. – Women's volleyball earned a commanding three set victory over Elmira College, sweeping the Soaring Eagles by scores of 25-9, 25-10, and 25-21.
Isabella Gracias (Oneonta, N.Y.) led the Hawks offensively with nine kills on a .294 hitting percentage, while
Lucille Walker (Ithaca, N.Y.) followed closely with eight kills and an impressive .500 hitting percentage.
Samantha Garback (Tully, N.Y.) contributed five kills, while
Nicole Decker (Coeymans Hollow, N.Y.) added three.
Thylia Keoviengsamay (Rome, N.Y.) dished out a team-high 14 assists and recorded four service aces, while
Justine Dickinson (Yaphank, N.Y.) chipped in eight assists.
Olivia Pirkl (Cazenovia, N.Y.) led the Hawks from the service line with five aces.
Defensively, Decker led Hartwick with 12 digs, followed by
Malia Dake (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) with nine and
Makella O'Neill (Webster, N.Y.) with seven. Garback recorded a team-high five block assists, while Gracias added four. Walker contributed one solo block and two block assists as the Hawks totaled eight team blocks.
With the victory, Hartwick improves to 12-11 overall, and 7-3 in Empire 8 Conference play.
Elmira jumped out to an early 6-4 advantage in the opening set before Hartwick responded with a seven-point run behind the serving of Keoviengsamay, which included three service aces. The Hawks continued to build their lead as Dake recorded back-to-back aces to extend the advantage to 16-8. Hartwick closed the set with seven consecutive points, highlighted by three straight aces from Pirkl, to take the opening frame 25-9.
The Hawks carried their momentum into the second set, breaking away from a 4-4 tie with six consecutive points to take a 10-4 lead. Hartwick continued to capitalize on Elmira errors while receiving offensive contributions from Garback, Gracias, and Walker. With the Hawks leading 19-10, Walker recorded three kills during a six-point closing run, while Pirkl sealed the 25-10 victory with a service ace.
The third set proved to be the most competitive of the evening, featuring 10 ties and six lead changes. Elmira took an early 8-5 advantage before Hartwick battled back to even the score at 9-9. The two sides continued to trade points until the Hawks broke a 16-16 tie with four consecutive points, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Gracias, to take a 20-16 lead. Elmira narrowed the deficit to 21-20, but Hartwick held firm down the stretch. A final block from Dickinson and Walker secured the 25-21 set victory and completed the conference sweep.
