ONEONTA, N.Y. – The Hartwick College volleyball team dropped a 3-1 non-conference decision to SUNY Morrisville on Wednesday evening at Lambros Arena. The Hawks won the second set 25-17 but Morrisville took the other three sets, 25-16, 25-12 and 25-17.
Freshman
Makella O'Neill (Webster, N.Y./webster Thomas) led Hartwick with nine kills, while senior
Isabella Gracias (Oneonta, N.Y./Oneonta) added eight kills and a .261 hitting percentage. Junior
Lucille Walker (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) recorded seven kills and three blocks, while junior
Samantha Garback (Tully, N.Y./Tully) finished with three kills and a .250 hitting percentage. Sophomore
Thylia Keoviengsamay (Rome, N.Y./Rome) paced the Hawks with 26 assists, while junior
Malia Dake (South Glens Falls, N.Y./South Glens Falls) added two assists and four service aces.
Dake led Hartwick defensively with 12 digs, while freshman
Maya Lesinski (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Charles W. Baker) 8 digs and O'Neill finished with seven. Keoviengsamay recorded five digs and two blocks, while Walker contributed three total blocks.
Hartwick finished the match with 30 kills, 28 assists, six service aces, 37 digs and four total blocks. Morrisville recorded 47 kills, 43 assists, nine aces, 44 digs and nine blocks. Morrisville won the game with consistent offensive play throughout the game, hitting .230 overall and never lower than .174, while the Hawsk hit .029, with negative performances in the sets they lost. The team sandwiched a hot-hitting second set but could not find the same groove the rest of the games.
Hartwick falls to 5-6 overall, while Morrisville improves to 11-2. The Hawks are back at home on Friday, Sept. 25 for their next game, hosting Oneonta in the "Battle of the Hills", at 7 p.m.
The Hawks came out strong in the opening set, pulling even at 11-11 after trailing 11-8. Morrisville responded with a late run, scoring seven straight points to take a 22-15 lead before closing out the set 25-16.
Hartwick answered in the second set. The Hawks held a 15-15 tie before scoring six consecutive points to take a 21-15 advantage. Dake served up two aces during the run, and Gracias finished the set with a kill to give Hartwick a 25-17 victory and even the match at 1-1.
Morrisville controlled the third set, building an early 6-3 lead before extending its advantage to 15-6. Hartwick trimmed the deficit to 22-11, but Morrisville closed out the set 25-12.
The Hawks took an early 3-1 lead in the fourth set and later led 9-7. Morrisville answered with a 7-0 run to take a 14-9 advantage and continued to build its lead before securing the 25-17 win and the match.
Morrisville was led by Isabelle Eskierka, who recorded a match-high 24 kills, while Samantha Siedlecki added eight kills and seven blocks. Kylie Hutchinson finished with 17 digs and eight assists, while Cassandra Bellmore recorded 20 assists and eight digs.
