MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — The Keuka College Women's Volleyball team faced a pair of former conference foes on Saturday, splitting a tri-match at SUNY Morrisville.

Keuka College (5-10, 1-2 Empire 8) won their opening match against SUNY Poly in straight sets, but lost to the host Mustangs in four to close the day.

Keuka College 3 vs. SUNY Poly 0 – 25-20, 25-19, 25-22

The Wolves held an early 6-2 lead over the Wildcats, but SUNY Poly rallied to tie it at 6-6 and take an 8-6 lead, forcing the Wolves to take a timeout. The call by Head Coach Quinn Wright was the right one as the Wolves came out of the break and scored 11 of the next 14 points. A block by Dayna Edholm and Megan McCann capped the stretch with the Wolves leading 17-11. SUNY Poly narrowed the game to two, but that would be as close as they would get it as the Wolves took the first 25-20.

The Wolves led early in the second as well, but SUNY Poly rallied to tie it at 15-15. A few points later with the set tied at 17, Keuka College ripped off four straight to take control of the set. Lauren Kuipers delivered one of her match-high four aces as the Wolves took the second 25-19.

SUNY Poly jumped out fast in the third, leading 9-3. Their six-point margin remained at 17-11 when the Wolves went on a run. Keuka College converted the next seven, tying it at 17, and then Dayna Edholm hit one home to give the Wolves an 18-17 edge. The Wildcats responded with four of their own to make it 21-18, but Keuka College scored seven of the final eight points to win the third 25-22 and sweep the match.

Lead Wolf: The offense was extremely balanced for the Green and Gold with eight different Wolves recording a kill. Lauren Kuipers led the Keuka College defense with 10 digs to go along with her four aces.

SUNY Morrisville 3 vs. Keuka College 1 – 25-21, 26-24, 25-27, 25-17

SUNY Morrisville led most of the way in the opening set against Keuka. The Wolves battled to stay in the match. Back-to-back aces by Casey Hunziker cut the deficit to one at 21-20. The one-point difference remained at 22-21, but the Mustangs scored the final three points to take the first 25-21.

Keuka College used a large rally in the middle of the second to erase a deficit and take the lead against Morrisville. Keuka used a 9-1 run to take a 15-12 lead and forcing Morrisville into a timeout. Following the break, the teams traded four-point runs and then three-point runs. Keuka College would lead the second 24-21, but the hosts scored the final five points of the set to win the second 26-24 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The lead traded back and forth in the third set, continuing the theme of the match. Keuka took a 13-11 lead, but the Mustangs responded with four points to regain the lead. They would lead by six at 22-16, looking to close out the match. The Wolves did not waiver. Keuka scored five straight, capped by two aces from Ericka Carlson. After a Mustang point, Keuka scored two more to tie the match at 23-23. Morrisville would regain the advantage and serve for the match at 25-24. Keuka College tied it back up on a kill from Megan McCann. Ava Hubbard then did the rest as the freshman hit a pair of aces to give the Wolves the third set 27-25, extending the match.

SUNY Morrisville would put it away in the fourth. The Mustangs led throughout the frame. Keuka was able to cut it to four at 21-17, but Morrisville took the next four points to win the fourth 25-17 and the match 3-1.

Lead Wolf: Delaney Yorks facilitated the Keuka College attack with 21 assists in the match. The senior added 11 digs on the defensive side for her seventh double-double of the season.

KC Notes:

• Keuka College is now 18-13 against SUNY Poly and 17-8 against Morrisville State all-time
• All three used to be members of the North Eastern Athletic Conference
• The Wolves have been at their best ending matches early. Keuka College is 3-1 in three-set matches in 2021 and 2-9 in four and five setters
• Ericka Carlson surpassed 50 career aces on Saturday
• Delaney Yorks also hit a milestone with 300 career digs
• Lauren Kuipers has already set a new season-high with 220 digs through 15 matches. She surpassed her previous high of 219 in her freshman season

Up Next for Keuka College: The Wolves return to the Empire 8 with three straight conference matches this week. Keuka College will play at Elmira College on Wednesday night. The Wolves will then host Russell Sage College on Friday night and Hartwick College on Saturday afternoon at the JMW Recreation and Athletics Center.